Marconi Intellectual Property (Ringfence), Inc.

Marconi Communications Gmbh

Ericsson Ab

Jeff Schulz

Ronald P Bianchini, Jr

Joseph A Hook

Gianfranco Spagnolo

Fan Zhou

Veera Reddy

Matthew Lepper

Ben Speiser

Jeff Quirke

A switch of a network for switching data. The switch includes a fabric for switching the data. The switch includes a parity fabric. The switch includes a connection mechanism connected to the fabric for providing data to and from the fabric and connected to the parity fabric for providing parity data to and from the parity fabric. The switch includes a first port card which receives data at a first rate from the network or sends data at the first rate to the network, performs first parity calculations on the data received at the first port card, produces first parity data from the first parity calculations or sends data at the first rate to the network. The switch includes a second port card which receives data at a second rate from the network or sends data at the second rate to the network, performs second parity calculations on the data received at the second port card, produces second parity data from the second parity calculations or sends data at the second rate to the network.

Parity exchange

A switch of a network. The switch includes a port card for sending and receiving packets to and from the network. The switch includes a plurality of fabrics connected to the port card. Each fabric switches portions of the packet. Each fabric has a queue in which portions of the packet are stored. The switch includes a first dequeuer for dequeueing the portions of the packet. The switch includes a second dequeuer for dequeueing the portions of the packets. The switch includes a state machine for controlling when the first and second dequeuers dequeue the portions of the packet. A method for sending packets with a switch of a network. The method includes the steps of dequeueing with a first dequeuer of a fabric portions of a packet from a queue of the fabric. Then there is the step of dequeueing with a second dequeuer of the fabric the portions of the packet from the queue after in the first dequeuer has dequeued the portions of the packet.

APS/port mirroring

A switch. The switch includes a port card. The switch includes a network connected to the port cards. The network having transmitters and receivers that communicate with each other and have assignments between each other. The switch includes a fabric connected to the port card through the network to send and receive fragments of packets to or from the port card. The port card, fabric and network have a plurality of modes of operation. The switch includes a control mechanism connected to the transmitters and receivers which changes the assignments according to the mode. The control mechanism changes the mode and reuses the transmitters and receivers where they can be reused. A method for switching fragments of packets. The method includes the steps of assigning assignments between transmitters and receivers of a network. Then there is the step of transferring the fragments of packets between fabrics and port cards with the transmitters and receivers of the network. Next there is the step of changing a mode of the fabrics, port cards and networks. Then there is the step of changing the assignments of the transmitters and receivers according to the mode and reusing the transmitters and receivers where they can be reused.

Optimization of number of transceivers used in a switch

A switch of a network for switching data. The switch includes a fabric for switching the data. The switch includes a connection mechanism connected to the fabric for providing data to and from the fabric. The switch includes a first port card which receives data at a first rate from the network or sends data at the first rate to the network. The first port card is connected to the connection mechanism to send data to or receive the data from the fabric at a connection rate. The switch includes a second port card which receives data at a second rate from the network or sends data at the second rate to the network. The second port card is connected to the connection mechanism to send data to or receive data from the fabric at the connection rate. The second port card separates the data received at the second rate into streams of data that together equal the data received at the second port card that are sent concurrently at the connection rate to the fabric and combine the data streams received at the connection rate into data that is sent at the second rate to the network. A method for switching data in a network.

Dual optimality for different data rate backplane transfer

A switch for switching packets in a network. The switch includes port cards which send packets to and receive packets from the network. The switch includes fabrics connected to the port cards for switching portions of the packets. Each fabric has queues in which portions of packets are stored. Each queue corresponds to one of the port cards. Each fabric has a determining mechanism which determines which queue the portions of the packet should be placed in. The detecting mechanism is dynamic to reflect changes in port card quantity without any change in connection data of the packets. A method for switching packets in a network.

Dynamic queue utilization

A switch for switching packets. The switch includes a plurality of fabrics which switch portions of packets. The switch includes a port card connected to the fabrics and the network for receiving packets from and sending packets to the network. The port card has a mechanism for tolerating whether any one of the plurality of fabrics has a failure and still sending correct packets to the network. A method for switching packets. The method includes the steps of receiving packets at a port card from a network of a switch. Then there is the step of sending to fabrics of the switch portions of the packets as stripes from the port card. Next there is the step of switching the portions of the packets with the fabrics. Then there is the step of sending back to the port card the portions of the packets as stripes from the fabrics. Next there is the step of sending correct packets with the port card to the network even though one of the fabrics has a failure.

Receiver decoding algorithm to allow hitless N+1 redundancy in a switch

A packet switch. The switch includes a plurality of port cards. Each port card has an unstriper which reassembles stripes of a particular packet. The switch includes a plurality of fabrics. Each fabric operates on only a same respective fragment of a packet received from one of the plurality of port cards at any one time and allows the same respective fragments to be reassembled at one of the plurality of port cards. Each of the plurality of fragments is connected to each of the plurality of port cards. A method for switching packets. The method includes the steps of sending a sync signal from a port card to a plurality of fragments. Then there is the step of sending fragments of a packet as stripes to the respect plurality of fabrics. Next there is the step of operating on the fragments after they are received at each respective fabric by each respective fabric only after the respective fabric has receives the sync signal.

Backplane synchronization in a distributed system with clock drift and transport delay

A switch. The switch includes a plurality of port cards. Each port card having an unstriper having a plurality of internal FIFOs which produces a back pressure signal whenever any one of the plurality of internal FIFOs has a predetermined amount of data of fragments of packets. The switch includes a plurality of fabrics. Each fabric is connected to each port card. Each fabric having a separator which sends fragments of a packet to an associated unstriper and which stops sending fragments of the packets when the separator receives a back pressure signal. The separator delay is greater than any back pressure propagation delay between any one of the plurality of unstripers and any one of the plurality of separators so all separators stop sending companion fragments of the same fragment at the same. A method for switching packets.

Synchronization of asynchronous back-pressure from one destination to multiple sources

A switch of a network connected to a switch control processor. The switch includes port cards which receive packets from and send packets to the network. The switch comprises a switch control processor for providing control information. The switch includes fabrics for switching the packets. The fabrics receive control information from the switch control processor but all the fabrics only implement the control information at a same logical time when each fabric receives a control initiation signal from one of the port cards. Each respective fabric continuously operating on packets before, during and after each respective fabric receives the control initiation signal. A method for switching packets. The method includes the steps of receiving packets at a port card of a switch from a network. Then there is the step of sending fragments of each packet to fabrics of the switch. Then there is the step of distributing control information from a switch control processor to the fabrics of the switch as the port card continues to receive packets. Next there is the step of receiving a control initiation signal from a switch control processor through the network at the port card. Then there is the step of sending the control initiation signal from the port card to the fabrics. Next there is the step of implementing the control information at each fabric only after the respective fabric receives the control initiation signal so all the fabrics implement the control information at the same time.

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Valencia, PA, United States of America

Jeff Schulz