AbstractA simple algorithm for resolving output contentions in an input‐buffered Batcher‐banyan network is described. The basic idea in this algorithm is to let the binary nodes of the Batcher network participate in the arbitration process. The proposed algorithm is completely distributed and parallel; thus it scales well to large size switches. Furthermore, our algorithm is fair and requires an overhead that is significantly less than that due to the well‐known three‐phase algorithm. Two variations of the algorithm are de