Patent ID: 6188690
Filing Date: 2001-02-13
Classification: H04J,H04L

Abstract:
A method in a switch element for selecting which cells will be connected to its output ports, comprising:(i) receiving a plurality of unicast cells on a plurality of input ports;(ii) storing received multicast cells in a single multicast cell buffer, wherein multicast cells of all priorities are stored in said multicast cell buffer;(iii) for each of said output ports of said switch element, selecting a unicast cell as a candidate to be connected to that port;(iv) reading from said single multicast cell buffer a plurality of multicast cells;(v) for each of said output ports of said switch element selecting a multicast cell as a candidate to be connected to that port; add(vi) for each of said output ports, comparing a priority of its associated candidate unicast cell to a priority of its associated candidate multicast cell and transmitting a higher priority cell out of said port,(vii) performing steps (iii) through (vi) wherein said unicast cells are routed in a single cell time.