Patent ID: 6754185
Filing Date: 2004-06-22
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A data communication system comprising:a plurality of nodes; a serial bus structure for serially exchanging isochronous data and asynchronous data between said nodes; a physical layer interface circuit comprised in one of said nodes, said physical layer interface circuit comprising an external port coupled to said serial bus structure, an internal parallel data interface, and a control interface; a plurality of link layer interface circuits comprised in said one node, each of said link layer interface circuits comprising a further internal parallel data interface and a further control interface, the plurality of link layer interface circuits sharing a same globally unique network address associated with said one node; a plurality of bi-direction switches, at one side all of said bi-directional switches being coupled to said internal parallel data interface, and at another side each of said bi-directional switches being coupled to a respective one of said further internal parallel data interfaces; a logic circuit comprised in said one node, said logic circuit being coupled between said control interface of said physical layer interface circuit an said further control interfaces of said plurality of link layer interfaces, said logic circuit being arranged for selectively routing isochronous data streams and asynchronous data streams from said link layer interface circuits to said physical layer interface circuit and from said physical layer interface circuit to said link layer interface circuits; wherein for outgoing data streams initiated by said link layer interface circuits, each link layer interface circuit is configured to include a unique channel or transaction label in said outgoing data streams that uniquely identifies said link layer interface circuit within said one node, and said physical layer interface circuit is configured to address said outgoing data streams using said same globally unique network address associated with said one node; and wherein for each response to said outgoing data streams that is addressed to said globally unique network address associated with said one node and that includes said unique channel or transaction label in said response, said physical layer interface circuit configured to route said response to the initiating link layer interface circuit using said label.