Patent ID: 6549695
Filing Date: 2003-04-15
Classification: H04Q

Abstract:
A switch for switching data from a source to a destination along a network, at least a portion of which is optically based, comprising:a plurality of input and output ports of optical transceivers; an element connected to the input and output ports in which the data is reflected as many times as necessary until a desired output port is available for the data to be sent out to the destination, the element includes a chassis having a plurality of mirrors that the data reflects off of until the output port becomes available, each of the mirrors can be oriented into a desired position; and a mirror controller connected to each mirror which orients each mirror to create a desired reflective path for the data so the data is reflected until the output port becomes available, the mirror controller keeps track of the destination of the data when it is received, and when the output port corresponding to the destination of the data will be available for the data, and determines the desired reflective path for the data from when the data is received and when the output port is available for the data.