Patent ID: 9369298
Filing Date: 2016-06-14
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method of transmitting a packet from a source switch module to a destination switch module, comprising: receiving, at a first port of a first switch module of a distributed switch, a first packet that conforms to a first communications protocol and that includes (i) path information specifying a route to the destination switch module and (ii) a set of load/store register operations to be executed by the destination switch module in order to initialize communication links on the destination switch module, thereby enabling communications within the distributed switch according to a second communications protocol different from the first communications protocol; inserting an indication of the first port into a return path information portion of the first packet; and upon determining that the first switch module is not the destination switch module, transmitting the first packet to a second switch module using a second port, the second port specified in the path information of the first packet, wherein the destination switch module is configured, upon receiving the first packet, to copy the set of load/store register operations into an execution buffer to be automatically executed; and subsequent to communication links on the destination module being initialized, transmitting, from the first switch module and to the second switch module, a second packet that conforms to the second communications protocol.