Patent ID: 6826189
Filing Date: 2004-11-30
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
An ATM switch transmitting ATM cells arrived through a plurality of different virtual connections by merging them into a single virtual connection, comprising:virtual connection queues which store the ATM cells classified according to the individual virtual connections; one or more packet queues which store an identifier of the virtual connection used for the transmission of the ATM cells for forming a packet, when a final ATM cell of the packet arrives; and a scheduler configured to scan the packet queues, extract one identifier from the packet queue storing the identifiers, select one of the virtual connection queues to be next transmitted in accordance with the identifier extracted from the packet queue, and successively transmit ATM cells in a unit of packet from the virtual connection queue selected, wherein a first packet queue and a second packet queue which has a lower priority than the first packet queue are provided as the packet queues, and wherein, when an ATM cell having been transmitted through a virtual connection identified by an identifier stored in the first packet queue and an ATM cell having been transmitted through a virtual connection identified by an identifier stored in the second packet queue are to be transmitted through different virtual connections, even during the transmission of a packet of the ATM cells in the virtual connection queue identified by the identifier stored in the second packet queue, the scheduler interrupts the transmission of the packet of the ATM cells in the virtual connection queue identified by the identifier stored in the second packet queue and starts the transmission of the ATM cells in the virtual connection queue identified by the identifier stored in the first packet queue.