Digital switch
First Claim
1. A switch fabric comprising:
- a shared memory;
a number of switch fabric ports; and
,a switch fabric data controller for routing blocks of data received at one switch fabric port to one or more other switch fabric ports and writing and reading data to and from, respectively, the shared memory, wherein the switch fabric data controller preferentially routes a block of data from the one switch fabric port to the one or more other switch fabric ports without writing the block of data into the shared memory if the one or more other desired switch fabric ports are free or become free within a predetermined period, and otherwise writes the block of data into the shared memory for temporary storage if the one or more other switch fabric ports are busy.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A switch fabric is provided which comprises a shared memory, a number of switch fabric ports, and a switch fabric data controller. The switch fabric data controller routes blocks of data received at one switch fabric port to one or more other switch fabric ports and writes and reads data to and from, respectively, the shared memory. The switch fabric data controller preferentially routes a block of data from the one switch fabric port to the one or more other switch fabric ports without writing the block of data into the shared memory if the one or more other desired switch fabric ports are free or become free within a predetermined period, and otherwise writes the block of data into the shared memory for temporary storage if the one or more other switch fabric ports are busy. In this manner, the switch fabric facilitates "cut-through" of blocks of data across a switch without the need to write the blocks of data to a shared memory, thereby reducing latency.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A switch fabric comprising:
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a shared memory; a number of switch fabric ports; and
,a switch fabric data controller for routing blocks of data received at one switch fabric port to one or more other switch fabric ports and writing and reading data to and from, respectively, the shared memory, wherein the switch fabric data controller preferentially routes a block of data from the one switch fabric port to the one or more other switch fabric ports without writing the block of data into the shared memory if the one or more other desired switch fabric ports are free or become free within a predetermined period, and otherwise writes the block of data into the shared memory for temporary storage if the one or more other switch fabric ports are busy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch comprising:
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a back plane; a microprocessor card connected to said back plane; at least two port cards connected to said back plane; and a switch fabric connected to said back plane, said switch fabric comprising; a shared memory; a number of switch fabric ports; and
,a switch fabric data controller for routing blocks of data received at one switch fabric port to one or more other switch fabric ports and writing and reading data to and from, respectively, the shared memory, wherein the switch fabric data controller preferentially routes a block of data from the one switch fabric port to the one or more other switch fabric ports without writing the block of data into the shared memory if the one or more other desired switch fabric ports are free or become free within a predetermined period, and otherwise writes the block of data into the shared memory for temporary storage if the one or more other switch fabric ports are busy.
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Specification