Patent ID: 7843846

Claim:
A switch element for routing network information using a network link, comprising: a receive port coupled to a receive link having a receive link rate; a transmit port coupled to a transmit link having a transmit link rate, the transmit link rate being greater than the receive link rate; and a programmable control system to configure the switch element to operate in a default mode, an immediate mode, a threshold mode and an interleave mode; wherein during the immediate mode, the transmit port inserts fill words with a unique character or unique characters between data words within a data packet when network information is not available, the number of inserted fill words depending upon a difference between the transmit link rate and the receive link rate, and the transmit port transmits network information immediately when a first part of a data packet is received by the receive port; wherein the fill words contain at least one K character, one unique K character, or a unique value and a standard K character; and wherein the unique character or unique characters are negotiated between the receive port and the transmit port during a port login process.