Overview: Performance considerations for integrated voice and data networks

• Authors: John Gruber
• Venue: Computer Communications
• Year: 1981

Performance considerations, particularly network delays, for integrated voice and data networks are reviewed. The nature of the delay problem is discussed, followed by a review of concepts, objectives and advances in enhanced circuit, packet and hybrid switching techniques, including fast circuit switching (FCS), virtual circuit switching (VCS), buffered speech interpolation (SI), packetized virtual circuit (PVC), cut-through switching (CTS), composite packets and various frame-management strategies for hybrid switching. In particular, the concept of introducing delay to resolve contention in SI is emphasized and, when applied to both voice talkspurts and data messages, this forms a basis for a relatively new approach to network design called transparent message switching (TMS). This approach and its potential performance advantages are reviewed in terms of various architectural aspects of integrated services networks, such as packet structure, multiplexing scheme, server structure and queuing performance, network topology and network protocols. A number of traffic-management strategies and their grade-of-service implications for voice service are discussed. These strategies include voice call and data session blocking, voice talkspurt and data message buffering, speech loss and data integrity and speech processing techniques, including variable quality, rate, speed and entropy coding. Emphasis is placed on the impact of variable delays on voice traffic, especially the importance of generating and preserving appropriate length speech talkspurts in order to mitigate the effects of variable network delay.