Patent ID: 7394814

Claim:
A cell-based switch, comprising: a. a switch input containing logic to: i. receive from a source a plurality of input frames that each contain a respective frame payload, ii. establish a connection between an input port and an output port upon detection that the start of a particular frame has been received at the switch input, iii. for each frame in the plurality of input frames, partition the frame payload among cells in a packet of cells, the packet corresponding to the frame, iv. in each packet of cells, include in a first particular cell of the packet an end-of-packet (EOP) indicator that designates the end of the frame payload, v. in each packet of cells, include in a second particular cell, not necessarily distinct from the first particular cell, an indicator that designates a maximum number of cells in the packet, and vi. transmit the cells from the input port; and b. a switch output containing logic to: i. receive the cells from the input port, ii. release the connection upon detection that the EOP indicator has been received at the output port, and iii. transmit through the output port an output frame containing the frame payload.