Multistage network with distributed pipelined control

DETAILED DESCRIPTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide in a multistage bufferless network a combination of low latency and probability of blockage.
It is another object of the invention to provide a technique for minimizing the blockage of a bufferless multistage network, thereby minimizing the number of times that a message requires retransmission.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a technique which permits higher utilization of data transport paths in a bufferless multistage network.
Since the network according to the invention has no buffers, a message either succeeds in getting through, or, if blocked, it must lead to the notification of the originator that transmission was unsuccessful and that another attempt is required.
In other words, for each message in the network, there must be a reserved path to its origin which can be used to signal the need for retransmission.
The invention provides multiple return paths used, for example, in a time-division-multiplexed (TDM) fashion.
This substantially reduces the amount of blocking in the network, and thus the number of times that a message requires retransmission.
In addition, the invention uses the networks which provide the backward paths as a means of controlling the data transport.
This permits the data transport function to be substantially simplified.
It also permits higher utilization of the data transport paths, as the control function can be pipelined.