Architectural issues related to the optical implementation of an EGS network based on embedded control.

Hardware requirements for an optical implementation of an EGS network based on (2,1,1) nodes and embedded control are detailed. It is shown that the crossover interconnection provides an ideal path for routing control information into the nodes within the EGS network. This control information can be stored in the nodes and used to control the flow of data through nodes in the next consecutive node-stage of the network. Operational characteristics of the embedded control network are explored, and the performance of the network is also studied. It is shown that the network is very sensitive to the addition of faults, and potential solutions to this problem are described. The use of embedded control is shown to add new functionality to the optical EGS network (time-multiplexed switching) and it also eliminates the need for spatial light modulators.