Patent ID: 9350656
Filing Date: 2016-05-24
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A routing system comprising: a set of packet processing engines configured to receive, transmit, and/or process packets of information, wherein individual ones of the set of packet processing engines include multiple ports, wherein an individual packet includes one or more destination port indicators, wherein the set of packet processing engines includes: a first engine including multiple ports, and a second engine including multiple ports; a connection between a first port of the first engine and a second port of the second engine; wherein the first engine is configured to receive a first packet of information, wherein the first packet has a destination, wherein the first engine is further configured to determine whether the one or more destination port indicators included in the first packet indicate that the first engine is the destination of the first packet, wherein the first engine is further configured to determine whether one of the one or more destination port indicators of the first packet indicate the first port of the first engine as a target for packet transmission, wherein the first engine is further configured to, responsive to the determination that one of the one or more destination port indicators indicate the first port for packet transmission, modify the one or more destination port indicators of the first packet and transmit the first packet via the first port as indicated, and wherein the one or more destination port indicators are encoded using multiple bits in a field included in the first packet, and wherein modification of the one or more destination port indicators in the first packet is accomplished by bit-shifting the field that includes the one or more destination port indicators, wherein the second engine is configured to receive the modified first packet transmitted by the first engine, wherein the second engine is further configured to determine whether the one or more destination port indicators included in the modified first packet indicate that the second engine is the destination of the first packet, and wherein the second engine is configured to process the modified first packet responsive to the determination that the one or more destination port indicators indicate that the second engine is the destination of the first packet.