Method and apparatus for rendering a cell-based switch useful for frame based protocols
US7072298B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jul 4, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 11, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2213/1332
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A switch segments variable length frames into cells for transmission over a cell-based switch fabric and handles rate differences between the input data rate and the switch fabric data rate. The fabric handles multiple cell packets by maintaining a switch path until a certain number of cells are transmitted as indicated in a length field in the first data cell. The first cell contains a full data payload, and a length field value sufficient to handle a maximum length frame. Subsequent cells can contain less than a full data payload, with the number of valid bytes in the cell being indicated in the length field. The last cell used to segment the frame contains an end of frame indicator. The indicator signals the destination port side of the switch to terminate the packet path in the switch fabric prematurely—before the number of cells indicated in the first data cell.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.