The PacketStar (TM) 6400 IP switch - An IP switch for the converged network

With the transformation of the Internet into a commercial infrastructure, t he ability to provide customer-specific and differentiated services has bec ome as important as the ability to meet the massive increases in bandwidth demand. Internet service providers would also like to provide Internet prot ocol (IP)-based virtual private network (VPN) services that satisfy custome r-specific service level agreements using the same shared infrastructure. T o meet these demands, it is necessary that routers and switches, in additio n to being fast enough to meet ever increasing bandwidth demands, also be c apable of providing quality of service (QoS) in a customer-specific manner. This paper describes the architecture, features, and technology innovation s of Lucent Technologies' PacketStar(TM) 6400-Series IP switch-the first IP switch designed specifically to meet the rising bandwidth demand and the r ising need for differentiated services of the evolving, multiservice QoS-ca pable Internet.