Patent ID: 7940762

Claim:
A packet switch, comprising: a switch fabric; a first port coupled to the switch fabric and comprising a first packet engine configured to receive a first data packet including a packet header and a data payload; a second port coupled to the switch fabric, the first packet engine further configured to identify the second port based on the packet header of the first data packet, the switch fabric configured to route the first data packet to the second port, the second port configured to output the first data packet from the packet switch; and a third port coupled to the switch fabric, the first packet engine further configured to select the first data packet for routing to a trace port based on the data payload of the first data packet and identify the third port as the trace port based on both the packet header and the data payload of the first data packet, the switch fabric further configured to route the first data packet to the trace port for analysis of packet communication through the packet switch.