Patent ID: 7272151

Claim:
A system for servicing data transactions within a processing device using common data paths, the system comprising: a plurality of source agents operable to transmit a plurality of data cells; a plurality of destination agents operable to of data cells; a plurality of virtual channels for transporting data cells between said source agents and said destination agents; and a switch operable to connect predetermined combinations of said source agents and said destination agents for the transmission of data, said switch generating a plurality of switch processing cycles and processing a plurality of control signals during said switch processing cycles, said control signals comprising: a source request signal corresponding to a source agent having a first data cell for transmission to a destination agent; an active state update signal designating said source agent as being active for the transmission of a first data cell; a grant signal for the transfer of said first data cell from said source agent to a specified destination agent; wherein a reload signal is generated during the same switch processing cycle as said grant signal, said reload signal indicating the availability of an additional data cell to transmission in a subsequent data cycle.