Network switching system having overflow bypass in internal rules checker
First Claim
1. A multiport data communication system for transferring data packets between ports, the data communication system comprising:
- a plurality of receive ports for receiving data packets, a decision making engine responsive to the received data packets for controlling transmission of the received data packets to at least one selected transmit port, the decision making engine including;
a plurality of queuing devices corresponding to the plurality of the receive ports for queuing data blocks representing the data packets received by the corresponding receive ports, logic circuitry responsive to the plurality of queuing devices for processing the data blocks in accordance with a prescribed algorithm, a forwarding circuit responsive to the logic circuitry for identifying the at least one selected transmit port for each data packet, and an overflow handling circuit for providing an overflow bypass for bypassing the logic circuitry to transfer at least a portion of a data block representing a received data packet directly to the forwarding circuit when at least one of the plurality of the queuing devices is in an overflow state.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A novel method of overflow data handling in a multiport data switching system having a decision making engine for controlling data forwarding between receive ports and at least one transmit port. Data blocks representing received data packets are placed in data queues corresponding to the receive ports. The data queues are transferred to logic circuitry for processing in accordance with a prescribed algorithm. Then, a forwarding decision is made to determine the transmit port. An overflow bypass is provided to allow at least a portion of a data block to bypass the logic circuitry, when at least one of the data queues is in an overflow state. For example, pointers indicating memory locations for storing the corresponding received data packets may be transferred via the overflow bypass when the overflow state is detected.
49 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A multiport data communication system for transferring data packets between ports, the data communication system comprising:
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a plurality of receive ports for receiving data packets, a decision making engine responsive to the received data packets for controlling transmission of the received data packets to at least one selected transmit port, the decision making engine including;
a plurality of queuing devices corresponding to the plurality of the receive ports for queuing data blocks representing the data packets received by the corresponding receive ports, logic circuitry responsive to the plurality of queuing devices for processing the data blocks in accordance with a prescribed algorithm, a forwarding circuit responsive to the logic circuitry for identifying the at least one selected transmit port for each data packet, and an overflow handling circuit for providing an overflow bypass for bypassing the logic circuitry to transfer at least a portion of a data block representing a received data packet directly to the forwarding circuit when at least one of the plurality of the queuing devices is in an overflow state. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a communication system having a plurality of receive ports, at least one transmit port, and a decision making engine for controlling data forwarding between the receive port and the at least one transmit port, a method of handling data overflow comprising the steps of:
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placing data blocks representing received data packets in a plurality of data queues corresponding to the plurality of the receive ports, processing the data queues by logic circuitry in accordance with a prescribed algorithm, making a forwarding decision to determine the at least one transmit port, and providing an overflow bypass to allow at least a portion of a data block representing a received data packet to bypass the logic circuitry, when at least one of the plurality of data queues is in an overflow state. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification