Patent ID: 7260091

Claim:
Transmission equipment comprising: a switch board having a cross-connect portion for making a multiplexed packet signal to branch to predetermined paths; a plurality of interface boards having a path on which a multiplexed signal is transmitted and connected to the cross-connect portion; and a plurality of dedicated interface boards connected to the cross-connect portion, each having a path switch function, which demultiplexed the transmitted multiplexed packet signal to demultiplexed packets and routes each of the demultiplexed packets to a predetermined path, wherein each of the plurality of dedicated interface boards includes an extension interface so that a packet to be directed to a path accommodated in a first of the plurality of dedicated interface boards is routed to a predetermined path in the first dedicated interface board, and that a packet to be directed to a path not accommodated in the first dedicated interface board is routed to another dedicated interface board accommodating the path concerned through the extension interface.