Patent ID: 7221652

Claim:
A method for tolerating data link faults in communications with a switch fabric, the method comprising: serially transmitting information packets including a plurality of cells from at least one traffic manager (TM); at a switch fabric, accepting information packets at a plurality of port card ingress ports, the information packets addressing a plurality of destination port card egress ports; selectively connecting port card ingress ports to port card egress ports; serially supplying information packets from a plurality of port card egress ports; sensing a connection fault between the switch fabric and the TM; in response to sensing the fault, reselecting connections between the switch fabric port card ports and the TM; wherein selectively connecting port card ingress ports to port card egress ports includes: each port card accepting packets on a sixth plurality of ingress data links, through a corresponding sixth plurality of port card ingress ports, from at least one iTM; storing the accepted packets in a port card ingress memory subsystem (iMS); assigning packets to a second plurality of port card backplane data links; and, supplying assigned packets to a crossbar; wherein sensing a connection fault between the switch fabric and the TM includes the first port card iMS receiving cells on an ingress port exceeding an error threshold; and, wherein reselecting connections between the port card ports and the TM includes the first port card iMS sending a message to the iTM identifying the faulty ingress connection.