Patent ID: 7769016

Claim:
A device, comprising: a first buffer to: receive data associated with a plurality of streams of data, store the data associated with the plurality of streams of data, selectively generate a forward flow control signal, the forward flow control signal controlling a manner in which the data, associated with the plurality of streams, is read from the first buffer, and output the forward flow control signal; and a plurality of second buffers connected downstream from the first buffer, each of the plurality of second buffers corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of streams of data, each of the plurality of second buffers to: receive data associated with the corresponding one of the plurality of streams of data, store the data associated with the corresponding one of the plurality of streams of data, selectively generate a backward flow control signal, the backward flow control signal controlling a manner in which the data, associated with the corresponding one of the plurality of streams of data, is sent for storage in the first buffer, and output the backward flow control signal, where the forward flow control signal is output to a component downstream from the first buffer and the backward flow control signal is output to a component upstream from the first buffer.