Patent ID: 7398339

Claim:
A system for transferring data packets between a data packet transfer core and a number of clients of an application layer, the system comprising: a first interface between the data packet transfer core and the application layer for transferring data packets of a first type and a second type from the packet transfer core to a first client and a second client; a second interface for transferring data packets of a third type to at least one third client; the data packet transfer core including: a number of first buffers for receiving data packet transfers of the first type input to the data packet transfer core; a number of second buffers for receiving data packet transfers of the second type input to the data packet transfer core; wherein each of the first and second buffers include a cut-through data path including a register and a bypass data path, the bypass data path transferring data packets from an input to the register to an output of the register without passing through the register; the system further including a first data path from the first interface to the first client and a second data path from the first interface to the second client, the second data path including a third buffer having an input coupled to the first interface and an output coupled to the second client, the third buffer being for storing data packets transmitted to the second client when data packets are transmitted to the second client at a rate that is faster than the second client is able to receive the data packets; wherein, in a first mode of operation, data packets of the first type transmitted from the data packet transfer core to the first client are transferred through the bypass data path of at least one of the number of first buffers, over the first interface and directly to the first client over the first data path.