Patent ID: 7123581

Claim:
A method of routing data packets of a plurality of data flows f 1 –f n , in a stream S, carried on a transmission media operating at a first data rate R, through a switching system that is comprised of K parallel switching pathways operating at a second data rate substantially equal to R/K, wherein K is an integer value of two or greater, said method comprising: assigning a first data flow f 1 in said stream S to a first switching pathway comprised of a first data buffer having an output coupled to a corresponding first switching fabric; after assigning a first data flow f 1 , routing to said first switching pathway data packets of at least said first data flow f 1 ; upon the determination of a first condition, assigning at least some of the data packets of said first data flow f 1 to a second switching pathway; routing said at least some data packets of said first data flow f 1 to said second switching pathway having a second buffer coupled to a second switching fabric.