Patent ID: 7826477

Claim:
A crossbar switch controller comprising: an input terminal configured to receive a set of service request signals from a set of virtual output queues each comprising a set of packets; a matrix circuit coupled to said input terminal and configured to represent said set of service request signals in the form of a matrix, wherein each service request signal is described by a row position M and a column position N; an output terminal coupled to said matrix circuit and configured to receive a portion of said set of packets during an epoch; an arbiter circuit coupled to said matrix circuit and configured to iteratively scan said matrix during said epoch and issue said set of grant signals to said virtual output queues to determine which service requests are granted; an arbiter controller coupled to said arbiter circuit and configured to initiate said arbiter circuit with an array of non-conflicting matrix elements; whereby, said arbiter circuit scans said matrix during a first epoch, issues said set of grant signals, allows said set of granted service requests to substantially complete, and if necessary, scans said matrix during subsequent epochs; and wherein the matrix is remapped by relocating the service request signals within the matrix according to a pre-defined mapping algorithm such that during a subsequent epoch the arbiter circuit scans the service request signals in a different order from the previous scan.