Patent ID: 7388863

Claim:
A communications switch, comprising: a plurality of numerically identified input traffic ports at which messages enter the switch; a plurality of numerically identified output traffic ports at which messages leave the switch; at least one numerical processor; each message entering the switch by a numerically identified input traffic port containing a header which contains a label stack that includes at least one valid label which is a significant label; at least one significant label extraction means for extracting a numerical value of the significant label contained within the header of a particular one of the messages which entered the switch via a particular one of the numerically identified input traffic ports, and for supplying the extracted numerical value of the significant label to the at least one numerical processor operative for using the significant label of the particular one of the messages and a numerical value of the particular one of the numerically identified input traffic ports to form a numerical result which directly equates to a number of the numerically identified output traffic port by which said particular one of the messages leaves the switch.