ATM switching fabric
US5844887A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 1995 |
| Grant date | Dec 1, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L2012/5681
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A distributed, scalable and modular asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching fabric is disclosed. The switching fabric includes port interface modules for connecting physical devices to the switch fabric. The switch fabric is arranged as rows of input buses running horizontally and columns of output buses running vertically. A junction module is located at each intersection of input and output buses. A switch can be constructed having any integer number M input and output buses, each input and output bus having an associated port interface module. The switching fabric for the specific case of M=2 is presented. Junction modules buffer and store cells received from the input buses and subsequently output cells onto the output buses. A junction module only accepts cells destined for one of the two output buses connected to itself. One output module is connected to each junction module situated with the same fabric column. Output modules instruct the junction modules when to store and output a cell. They also determine the order upon which cells are output onto the output buses. Communication protocols between output modules and junction modules and between output modules and port in…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.