Patent ID: RE40776

Claim:
Process for translating an ATM cell header for the routing thereof on a transmission highway of a communication network via an ATM switch, the header of the cell comprising a first field VPI and a second field VCI, the first field VPI and a second field VCI, the first field VPI identifying a virtual path (VP) number and the second field VCI selecting a specified virtual channel (VC) within the virtual path, said process comprising: storing indirect addressing context page numbers for virtual circuits in VC switching mode in a first major table, storing context page numbers for virtual circuits in VP switching mode in a second major table, storing context page numbers for virtual circuits in VC switching mode in indirect addressing context pages, addressing the context pages of virtual circuits in VC switching mode by way of an indirect addressing context page on the basis of the first major table and of the field VCI, and addressing the context pages of the VP switching mode on the basis of context page numbers contained in the second major table, wherein all context pages have a substantially identical size.