Patent ID: 7184440

Claim:
A multi-protocol switch, comprising: a plurality of egress line cards, wherein each of the plurality of egress line cards supports at least one egress connection; a switching fabric operably coupled to the plurality of egress line cards; and an ingress line card operably coupled to the switching fabric, wherein the ingress line card receives cells over a plurality of ingress connections, wherein each cell includes an ingress connection identifier, wherein the ingress line card determines a cell protocol for each cell based on the ingress connection identifier corresponding to the cell, wherein when the cell protocol is a first protocol, the ingress line card determines a forwarding decision based on an input connection identifier for the cell, wherein when the cell protocol is a second protocol, the ingress line card determines the forwarding decision based on a destination address for a packet to which the cell corresponds, wherein the ingress line card forwards at least a portion of the cell over the switching fabric to at least one of the plurality of egress line cards based on the forwarding decision.