Abstract: A session-based perfo rmance model of so f tswi tch enti ty wi th multiple processes sharing single CPU ( cent ral processing uni t ) a rchi tecture is rai sed out.Acco rding to thi s mo del, the maximum sessio n throughput of so f tswi tch is predicted wi th the co nst raint o f finite CPU processing capaci ty. An optimal processing ca pacity allocatio n policy i s also pro posed, w hich co uld minimi ze the mean call setup delay.

Key words: sof t swi tch, dynamic processing capaci ty allocatio n policy, perfo rmance prediction, call setup delay, sessio n thro ughput