Patent ID: 7184431

Claim:
A communications switch for switching information units between inputs and outputs, said switch comprising: p inputs each for receiving information units; q outputs; p+l buffers, each of said buffers comprising q storage locations, each one of said storage locations for storing one of said information units, wherein p of said p+l buffers are active buffers, and l of said p+l buffers are redundant buffers; an ingress commutator, for interconnecting each of said p inputs to at least one of said pbuffers; an egress commutator for interconnecting each of said q outputs to a select one of said p+l buffers; said ingress commutator operable to cyclically interconnect each of said p inputs to each of said p active buffers to provide data from said each of said p inputs to said p active buffers, and to interconnect at least one of said I redundant buffers to said p inputs to replicate data in one of said p active buffers within said at least one of said l redundant buffers; and said egress commutator operable to interconnect each of said q outputs to one of said p+l buffers to provide data from said p inputs to said q outputs wherein p, q, and l are positive integers.