The Parallel Protocol Engine

The design and implementation of a multiprocessor-based communication subsystem—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 16000 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 via a high-speed link, is then analyzed and the problems concerning the soft- and hardware interface to the PPE are presented. © 1993 IEEE