Patent ID: 7525913

Claim:
A method for controlling timing of release of traffic provided to a communication switch including a switch fabric through at least one ingress port and being directed to a common egress port of said communication switch, said traffic comprising a plurality of datastreams for each said at least one ingress port and stored in respective queues, said method comprising: (a) for each said datastream: (i) establishing a maximum cell release rate to said switch fabric for said datastream; (ii) deriving from said maximum cell release rate and a clock rate for a clock signal a preset count value representative of a minimum gap between cells in said datastream upon release of said cells to said switch fabric; (iii) loading said preset count value into a first counter as a current count value; (iv) decrementing said current count value in said first counter in response to said clock signal; (v) incrementing a current count value in a second counter and resetting the current count value in said first counter to said preset count value when the current count value in said first counter reaches zero; (vi) determining whether said egress port is congested; and (vii) if said egress port is not congested and the current count value in said second counter is not zero, making a cell available for release to said switch fabric; (b) scheduling transmission of said available cells from each one of said plurality of datastreams to said switch fabric; and (c) decrementing the current count value in said second counter of a particular one of said plurality of datastreams when a cell is released from that particular datastream to said switch fabric.