Patent ID: 6912202

Claim:
A method for testing a network switch chip having an expansion port configured for transferring data according to a prescribed protocol, the method comprising: receiving by an external logic unit an expansion port frame from the expansion port via an expansion bus; generating by the external logic unit a new expansion port frame based on reception of the expansion port frame; and outputting the new expansion port frame onto the expansion bus for reception by the expansion port of the network switch chip; wherein the receiving of the expansion port frame includes: asserting by the external logic unit an expansion port receiver request signal, on a corresponding signal path of the expansion bus, to enable the expansion port of the network switch chip to output the expansion port frame onto a single expansion port transmit data path of the expansion bus, the external logic unit asserting the expansion port receiver request signal until detecting a buffer of the external logic unit has been filled; and storing into the buffer, during assertion of the expansion port receiver request signal, frame data of the expansion port frame received in prescribed bursts via the single expansion port transmit data path based on a first clock signal received from the expansion port via a corresponding first clock path of the expansion bus.