cell relay

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | 668 words | Copyright

cell relay A form of switching in which the individual packets, or cells, have a fixed length and a fixed internal structure; in many cases the cells are also deliberately kept to a small size, typically a few tens of bytes. Once the initial decision on cell routing has been made, typically at the time of creating a virtual circuit, it is possible to realize the actual switching activity almost entirely in table-driven hardware, rather than invoking a software implementation, allowing very short switching times. The large number of cells into which even a short message is subdivided increases the ratio of overheads to useful payload. See also ATM, frame relay.

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JOHN DAINTITH. "cell relay." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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