About maximum transfer rates for fast packet switching networks

We present an analysis framework for comparing the maximum achievable data rates that can be expected when ATM cells or variable length packets are used for LAN interconnection. A common quality of service parameter is used in the comparison (the frame corruption rate). The results of the analysis show that in several cases the ATM can achieve a higher useful rate in spite of the overhead handicap. This is due to pipelining which allows a better buffer utilization. Such cases occur when low-speed connections are multiplexed on the ATM link and when the link multiplexing buffer size is not very large (up to 13500 bytes in our examples).