Patent ID: 8135004
Filing Date: 2012-03-13
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A multi-plane cell switch fabric system including a plurality of switching units used for asynchronous destination arbitration respectively; wherein said system includes a distribution unit that provides an input function and includes a mechanism that divides each variable-length packet addressed to a same destination into one or more fixed length cells, temporarily holds those cells addressed to said same destination until a quantity of those cells exceeds an integer multiple of a quantity of said switching units, then sends said cells to said plurality of switching units in units of a quantity of cells equal to said integer multiple of said quantity of said switching units; wherein each of said switching units in said switch fabric system includes a mechanism for arbitrating output of each cell among a plurality of destinations while keeping a sending order of said cells received from a same source; and wherein said system includes a reordering unit that provides an output function and said reordering unit includes: a mechanism for using ordering check information of each received cell to decide whether or not said cell is a head cell; a FIFO (First In First Out) queue for temporarily recording information used for said ordering check information only if said cell is not a head cell; a mechanism for selecting said cell if it is a head cell and further checking temporarily recorded information in said FIFO queue sequentially from a head entry of the FIFO queue, thereby selecting a next head cell of subsequent cells to the selected head cell; and a mechanism for using packet delimitation information to restore an original packet with respect to said selected head cell.