Patent ID: 7711391

Claim:
A circuit card, comprising: a substrate; an interface disposed on the substrate having a plurality of input/output (I/O) terminals; a first processor disposed on the substrate and adapted to implement communication functions in accordance with a communication standard; a second processor disposed on the substrate and adapted to implement additional functions beyond said communication functions specified by the communication standard; and a switch disposed on the substrate and coupled to the interface, the first processor, and the second processor, and configured to selectively route a group of signals between the I/O terminals and the first and second processors, the group of signals comprising a plurality of signals received through a selected combination of the I/O terminals, wherein said switch is further configured to recognize a signal pattern depicted by said selected combination of the I/O terminals through which the group of signals was received, the combination being undefined by the communication standard, and to determine said routing of the group of signals to either the first processor or the second processor based at least in part on said signal pattern.