Patent ID: 7124200

Claim:
A routing apparatus for obtaining routing data conforming to a destination address of a packet that arrives from a line, adding the routing data onto the packet, and switching the packet based upon the routing data to send the packet to a prescribed line, comprising: a main controller having a routing data generator for generating routing data conforming to a requested destination address and sending the routing data to a requesting source; a line interface for extracting a destination address from a packet that arrives from a line, generating routing-data request for requesting said main controller to be notified of routing data conforming to this destination address, adding the routing data of which notification has been given by said main controller onto the packet and then outputting the packet; a switch for sending the routing data request, which enters from a prescribed line interface, to the main controller, sending the routing data from said main controller to a line interface of the requesting source, and switching a packet with attached routing data based upon the routing data to send the packet to another line interface, wherein said main controller has routing data generators, each associated with a line speed; said line interface adds a line identifier onto a destination address of a packet that arrives from a line, creating the routing-data request and notifying said main controller of routing data; said main controller responds to the request by generating routing data from whichever routing data generator corresponds to a line speed indicated by the line identifier and sending this routing data to the line interface that is the requesting source.