Frame forwarding in a switch fabric
US6567417B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 19, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 20, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 19, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02D30/50
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method of forwarding data in a network switch fabric is disclosed. An incoming data packet is received at a first port of the fabric and a first packet portion, less than a full packet length, is read to determine particular packet information including an opcode value. The opcode value allows the fabric to determine the packet type, sucha a whether the packet is a broadcast packet, a unicast packet, a multicast packet, etc. Based on the opcode value read, a particular forwarding table of a plurality forwarding tables is read and an egress port bitmap is determined based on entries read from the particular forwarding table. The incoming data packet is then forwarded based on the egress port bitmap. In addition, the architecture of the switch fabric is also disclosed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.