Transparent switch using optical and electrical proximity communication
First Claim
1. A switch, comprising:
- input ports configured to receive signals, wherein the signals include data;
output ports configured to output the signals;
switching elements, wherein a given switching element in the switching elements is coupled to a given input port in the input ports through a first electrical signal path and is coupled to a given output port in the output ports through a second electrical signal path, and wherein a given electrical signal path, which can be either the first electrical signal path or the second electrical signal path, is configured to use proximity communication to communicate the data; and
a flow-control mechanism configured to provide flow-control information associated with the data to the switching elements, wherein the flow-control mechanism is coupled to the switching elements through an optical control path; and
wherein the switching elements are configured to selectively couple the input ports to the output ports based on the flow-control information.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of a switch are described. This switch includes input ports configured to receive signals (which include data) and output ports configured to output the signals. In addition, the switch includes switching elements and a flow-control mechanism, which is configured to provide flow-control information associated with the data to the switching elements via an optical control path. These switching elements are configured to selectively couple the input ports to the output ports based on the flow-control information. Furthermore, a given switching element in the switching elements is coupled to a given input port and a given output port via electrical signal paths that are configured to use proximity communication to communicate the data.
166 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A switch, comprising:
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input ports configured to receive signals, wherein the signals include data; output ports configured to output the signals; switching elements, wherein a given switching element in the switching elements is coupled to a given input port in the input ports through a first electrical signal path and is coupled to a given output port in the output ports through a second electrical signal path, and wherein a given electrical signal path, which can be either the first electrical signal path or the second electrical signal path, is configured to use proximity communication to communicate the data; and a flow-control mechanism configured to provide flow-control information associated with the data to the switching elements, wherein the flow-control mechanism is coupled to the switching elements through an optical control path; and wherein the switching elements are configured to selectively couple the input ports to the output ports based on the flow-control information. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer system, comprising:
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a processor; memory; and a switch, wherein the switch includes; input ports configured to receive signals, wherein the signals include data; output ports configured to output the signals; switching elements, wherein a given switching element in the switching elements is coupled to a given input port in the input ports through a first electrical signal path and is coupled to a given output port in the output ports through a second electrical signal path, and wherein a given electrical signal path, which can be either the first electrical signal path or the second electrical signal path, is configured to use proximity communication to communicate the data; and a flow-control mechanism configured to provide flow-control information associated with the data to the switching elements, wherein the flow-control mechanism is coupled to the switching elements through an optical control path; and wherein the switching elements are configured to selectively couple the input ports to the output ports based on the flow-control information.
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20. A method for switching signals, comprising:
providing flow-control information to switching elements in a switch via an optical control path; selectively coupling the signals from one or more input ports to one or more output ports of the switch using the switching elements, wherein the selective coupling is determined by the flow-control information; and communicating the signals to and from the switching elements using electrical signal paths, wherein the electrical signal paths are configured to use proximity communication to communicate the signals.
Specification