Patent ID: 8295298

Claim:
An electronic device, comprising: a processor; and a network interface, comprising a network port comprising a plurality of lines and a physical interface comprising a first and second channels, each comprising a plurality of lines, wherein the physical interface comprises a switching function, the physical interface being operable to forward data signals received at the network port from a first external network device and addressed to the electronic device to the processor and being operable to utilize the switching function to forward data signals received at the network port from the first external network device and not addressed to the electronic device to a second external network device via the network port, and wherein the first channel of the physical interface is associated with the first external network device and the second channel of the physical interface is associated with the second external network device, wherein half of the lines of the network port are connected to at least some of the lines of the first channel and wherein the second half of the lines of the network port are connected to at least some of the lines of the second channel.