Reviewer: Amy Freestone
Date: 10-6-2005
How would you rate this paper, relative to others we have read? bottom 50%
How would you rate your knowledge of the topic of this paper? novice
What problem or issue does the paper address? Why is it important?
The paper proposes a Single-Buffered abstract router model. It also deals with a scheme for memory management which allows memory to be added incrementally with each line card rather than centrally located. This is important because it addresses scalability. The basic issue is important because it could provide increased understanding of router design and switching scheduling.
What are the main contributions of the paper and why are they important?
The main contribution appears to be intended to be the single-buffered abstract router model, but it seems to be overshadowed by the memory management scheme which allows for scalable central use of memory.
How significant are these contributions relative to previous work?
The contributions would be more significant if there were not so many open issues left.
The router model seems no more significant than any of the other previous models. The PIFO queue, on the other hand, seems a significant contribution as a method of effective memory allocation.
Give detailed comments justifying your view of the paper.
There are two types of routers (output queued and shared memory) which are both commented to give the best theoretical performance.
There seem to be a number of points which the authors need to explore further.