"N-by-N ""knockout"" switch for a high-performance packet switching system"
US4760570A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 1987 |
| Grant date | Jul 26, 1988 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/40
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention relates to an N-input, N-output "Knockout" packet switch (11) which uses decentralized control and distributed routing. More particularly, within the switch, the N input signals comprising fixed-length packets propagate along separate broadcast buses (14) to each of N bus interface units (15) which include N packet filters (20), a concentrator (21) and a shared buffer (22). Each bus interface unit is associated with a separate one of the N outputs (12) of the switch, and the N packet filters therein are each associated with a separate one of the N broadcast buses for detecting if a packet on the associated bus is destined for the associated switch output. The concentrator is used to reduce the number of separate buffers needed to receive packets which may arrive simultaneously and are destined for the associated output. Contending packets at the output of the concentrator are stored in the shared buffer before placement on the output line on a first-in, first-out basis. The lost packet rate of the "Knockout" switch can be made as small as desired and latency of packets in the switch is the smallest achievable by any comparable switch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.