Broadcast ring sandwich networks

The authors describe the analysis and constructive design of a new class of rearrangeable broadcast networks called ring sandwich networks. They present analytical results which permit the rearrangeability of ring sandwich networks to be evaluated on the basis of fundamental parameters associated with the ring sandwich structure so that the trade-off between the network rearrangeability and the network cost can be determined. These results permit ring sandwich broadcast networks to be designed for which the average number of rearrangements (i.e., disturbed connections) in making a connection can be reduced to a small constant. Moreover, this is accomplished with less overall circuitry that must actually perform the broadcast function than other comparable designs. Ring sandwich networks are highly attractive for providing broadcast capability in parallel and distributed computing environments wherein a limited degree of rearrangeability can be tolerated.