Message ring in a switching network
First Claim
1. A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting frames and messages, wherein the frames consist of relatively long strings of bytes and the messages consist of small entities, the switching apparatus comprisinga ring of plural data ports comprising input ports and output ports, wherein each data port is interconnected to two adjacent data ports, the ring defining for any given pairing of one input port and one output port a set of zero or more intermediate data ports in a given direction, the ring for passing the messages received at the input ports through any respective intermediate ports to designated output portsa crossbar for switching the frames from the input ports to the output portswherein the frames and messages are processed simultaneouslywherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar.
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Abstract
There is disclosed a switching network for efficiently receiving and transmitting data packets having both frames and messages. The switching network includes a crossbar switch with a plurality of surrounding ports for exclusively switching frames which normally consist of large data streams of 40 to 60 bytes. Then the ports are connected together in a message ring and small data entity messages, for example 4, 8, or 12 bytes, are switched from an input port to an output port around the ring avoiding congestion of the crossbar switch.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting frames and messages, wherein the frames consist of relatively long strings of bytes and the messages consist of small entities, the switching apparatus comprising
a ring of plural data ports comprising input ports and output ports, wherein each data port is interconnected to two adjacent data ports, the ring defining for any given pairing of one input port and one output port a set of zero or more intermediate data ports in a given direction, the ring for passing the messages received at the input ports through any respective intermediate ports to designated output ports a crossbar for switching the frames from the input ports to the output ports wherein the frames and messages are processed simultaneously wherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar.
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6. A process for receiving and transmitting frames and messages, wherein the frames consist of relatively long strings of bytes and the messages consist of small entities, the process comprising
interconnecting plural data ports in a ring, the data ports comprising input ports and output ports, wherein each data port is interconnected to two adjacent ports, the ring defining for any given pairing of one input port and one output port a set of zero or more intermediate data ports in a given direction passing the messages received at the input ports around the ring through any respective intermediate ports to designated output ports simultaneously with the passing the messages, switching the frames from the input ports to the output ports via a crossbar, wherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar.
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11. Apparatus for receiving and transmitting frames and messages, wherein the frames consist of relatively long strings of bytes and the messages consist of small entities, the apparatus comprising
means for interconnecting plural data ports in a ring, the data ports comprising input ports and output ports, wherein each data port is interconnected to two adjacent ports, the ring defining for any given pairing of one input port and one output port a set of zero or more intermediate data ports in a given direction means for passing the messages received at the input ports around the ring through any respective intermediate ports to designated output ports means for switching the frames from the input ports to the output ports via a crossbar, wherein the messages do not pass through the crossbar and wherein the means for switching the frames is configured to operate simultaneously with the means for passing the messages.
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16. A process for receiving and transmitting frames and messages, wherein the frames consist of relatively long strings of bytes and the messages consist of small entities, the process comprising
analyzing a data packet if the data packet is a frame, then routing the frame through a crossbar switch if the data packet is a message, then inserting the message into one of a plurality of ports, wherein the ports are interconnected in a ring giving the message a message ring destination identifier passing the message from port to port until the message reaches a destination port, wherein the message does not pass through the crossbar switch.
Specification