Patent ID: 7492759

Claim:
An internally-integrated type computer network switching unit for use to be internally integrated to a computer platform whose internal circuitry includes a main control unit, at least one peripheral interconnecting interface, and a network linking interface for allowing the computer platform to selectively switch between various connections to a number of network nodes; the inernally-integrated type computer network switching unit comprising: a data transceiver module, which is used for multiple external connections to the network nodes for transmitting data to and receiving data from the network nodes; a multilayer switching module, which is coupled via a first-type bus interface to the peripheral interconnecting interface in the internal circuitry of the computer platform, via a second-type bus interface to the network linking interface in the internal circuitry of the computer platform and via a third-type bus interface to the data transceiver module; and which is capable of being controlled by the main control unit via the first-type bus interface for swithching between the connections between the network nodes linked to the data transceiver module for the main control unit to communicate with a selected one of the network nodes; and a connecting module, which is internally coupled via a fourth-type bus interface to the multilayer switching module for externally connecting to another instance of the internally-integrated type computer network switching unit for the purpose of expanding the network linking capacity of the computer platform, wherein the multilayer switching module is further coupled to the main control unit in the internal circuitry of the computer platform via the second-type bus interface and the network linking interface.