MULTICAST AND BROADCAST OPERATIONS IN ETHERNET SWITCHES
First Claim
1. A switching apparatus comprising:
- a first port coupled to receive an input data frame;
a first logic circuit coupled to receive the input data frame from the first port and configured to determine a number of copies of the input data frame to make and to make the number of copies of the input data frame;
a first memory coupled to the first logic circuit and configured to store and read the copies of the input data frame;
a second logic circuit coupled to the first memory and configured to determine when to read at least one copy of the input data frame from the first memory; and
a second port coupled to the first memory and configured to transmit the at least one copy of the input data frame.
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Abstract
A switch and a process of operating a switch are described where a received data frame is copied one or more times into a memory before being transmitted out of the switch. The switch and method determine how much space in the memory is needed to store all of the copies of the received data frame and then the switch and method determine locations in the memory for storing the copies of the received data frames. The copies of the received data frame are stored until the ports designated as transmitting the copies of the received data frame are ready. When a port is ready, a copy of the received data frame is read out of the memory and the port is instructed where to locate the copy on a bus. When the port has retrieved the copy of the data frame, it transmits the data frame out of the switch.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A switching apparatus comprising:
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a first port coupled to receive an input data frame; a first logic circuit coupled to receive the input data frame from the first port and configured to determine a number of copies of the input data frame to make and to make the number of copies of the input data frame; a first memory coupled to the first logic circuit and configured to store and read the copies of the input data frame; a second logic circuit coupled to the first memory and configured to determine when to read at least one copy of the input data frame from the first memory; and a second port coupled to the first memory and configured to transmit the at least one copy of the input data frame. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A switching apparatus comprising:
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a first logic circuit coupled to receive an input data frame and configured to determine a number of copies of the input data frame to make and to make the determined number of copies of the input data frame; a memory coupled to the first logic circuit and configured to store and read the copies of the input data frame, the memory being comprised of channels and segments with one or more segments being accessible at a given time; and a second logic circuit coupled to the memory and configured to determine when to read at least one copy of the input data frame from the memory. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification