Patent ID: 6542502
Filing Date: 2003-04-01
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method for replicating a packet within a switching unit utilizing wormhole flow control, comprising the steps of:a) receiving a single copy of a packet to be replicated to an output port or ports, the single copy of a packet including data and destination address information, wherein the single copy of a packet is handled as a series of subpacket units, defined as chunks; b) storing the chunks of the single copy of a packet in a buffer, wherein each chunk is associated with a next chunk pointer, a next packet pointer, and a replication counter; c) notifying each target output port that the single copy of a packet is destined for the target output port; d) replicating the single copy of a packet to each target output port when the target output port is available; and e) when the single copy of a packet has been replicated to all target output ports, deleting the single copy of a packet from the buffer, wherein each time the chunk is replicated to the target output port, the replication counter is adjusted, when the replication counter reaches a predetermined count the chunk is deleted from the buffer.