The design and implementation of a multiprocessor-based communication subsystem called the Parallel Protocol Engine (PPE), for the parallel and pipelined execution of protocols, are described. As an example, an implementation of the ISO 8802-2.2 logical link control on a four-processor version of the PPE is presented and analyzed. The performance of the implementation is more than 16,000 type-2 information protocol data units/s, commensurate with emerging high-speed networks that operate in the 100-Mb/s range. The overall end-to-end performance of an integrated system, where two workstations, each equipped with a PPE, communicate over a high-speed link, is analyzed and the problems concerning the soft- and hardware interface to the PPE are presented.>

A comparative survey is presented of techniques used at the transport layer in eight representative protocols, most of which were designed to improve the protocol processing rate. The protocols are the relevant portions of the APPN, Datakit, Delta-t, NETBLT, OSI/TP4, TCP, VMTP, and XTP architectures. The protocols are described, and the functions under consideration are defined. No distinction is made as to whether these functions are carried out in a LAN, MAN, or WAN environment. The objective is to provide reliable, end-to-end transmission of data. The mechanisms required to support connection management, acknowledgements, flow control, and error handling are examined. Suitable techniques for designing light-weight transport protocols are identified. A discussion is presented as to which technique seems the most promising.>

A practical method is presented that permits retrieval from a table in constant time. The method is suitable for large tables and consumes, in practice, O(n) space for n table elements. In addition, the table and the hashing function can be constructed in O(n) expected time. Variations of the method that offer different compromises between storage usage and update time are presented.