Patent ID: 7310332

Claim:
A network switch for network communications, said network switch comprising: a first data port interface, said first data port interface supporting a plurality of data ports for transmitting and receiving data at a first data rate; a second data port interface for transmitting and receiving data at a second data rate; a first internal memory, said first internal memory communicating with said first data port interface and said second data port interface; a first memory management unit, said first memory management unit including an external memory interface for communicating data from said first data port interface to and from an external memory; a second internal memory, said second internal memory communicating with said second data port interface; a second memory management unit, said second memory management unit controlling access to and from said second internal memory; and a communication channel, said communication channel for communicating data and messaging information between said first data port interface, said second data port interface, said first internal memory, and said first memory management unit, wherein said first memory management unit directs data from one of said first data port and said second data port to one of said internal memory and said external memory interface according to a predetermined algorithm.