Patent ID: 6046997
Filing Date: 2000-04-04
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
An Asynchronous Transfer Mode (hereinafter referred to as ""ATM"" switch method for an ATM switch having a plurality of input multiplex buffers connected to a plurality of input ports, a plurality of output separation buffers connected to a plurality of output ports and a plurality of output buffers each provided for said respective output separation buffers, said output buffers having a capacity for accumulating cells equal to a number of said input multiplex buffers, said ATM switch method comprising the steps of:accumulating a cell input, from an input port, in an input multiplex buffer connected to said input port;inhibiting output of a cell addressed to a certain output port from an input multiplex buffer when said cell of said certain output port, equal to or more than a threshold value, has been accumulated in said input multiplex buffer;outputting a cell, except for said inhibited output cell, from said input multiplex buffer and accumulating said output cell in an output buffer corresponding to an output port of said output cell;outputting a cell accumulated in said output buffer and accumulating said output cell in an output separation buffer corresponding to an output port of said output cell;outputting a cell accumulated in said output separation buffer to be output to an output port to which said cell is addressed;detecting a number of active connections existing between each output port and each input multiplex buffer;setting a detected number of active connections in counters provided for each output port; andcontrolling a number of cells output from each output separation buffer so that said number of cells are in proportional to a number of said active connections existing between an output port to which said cell is addressed and an input multiplex buffer that has output said cell based on a number of said detected active connections, wherein said controlling step further includes:outputting a cell addressed to an output port corresponding to a counter with said count value not set to 0 among said counters when outputting cells accumulated in an output separation buffer to said output port and subtracting a value of said counter corresponding to an output port that has output cells at every output of a cell.