The introduction of high-speed serial communication links and general purpose VLSI routers offers new opportunites in system design. C104 routers can be used to construct high throughput low latency interconnection networks for use in telecommunications, parallel computers and electronic systems in general. The T9000 transputer with its integrated communications links can be connected directly to these networks, providing high performance data-handling, protocol conversion and network control.
The first chapters cover the rationale behind the design of the new links, the C104 universal packet router and the T9000 'virtual channel' processor. Other chapters deal with interconnection networks for parallel computers and specific topics relevant to building powerful systems from C104 routers and T9000 transputers. The book ends with detailed application case-studies: very large (parallel) database machines, high-performance switches for the CCITT Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) broadband networks (both 'public' and 'on-your-desk') and distributed scalable multimedia systems (built on ATM).
Here is a longer textual description of the each of the chapters of the book.