International Business Machines Corporation

Michael E Underkoffler

Leon Skarshinski

Karl H Hoppe

Laura H McGoogan

A computer interconnection system provides dynamic switch cascading with a plurality of circuit switches having circuit switch ports coupled by a dynamic connection to provide a dynamically cascadable switching network having a plurality of nodes, including end point and switch nodes. Two individual circuit switches of the network are interconnected by a cross-link group of one or more links. The system transmits frame information including a source endpoint address and a destination endpoint address, each of which can be associated with an endpoint port or a cross-link group, and forms a connection between an endpoint port or a cross-link group to make a connection between a circuit switch port corresponding to a source endpoint address and a circuit switch port corresponding to the destination endpoint. The dynamic circuit switch connections, as applicable to dynamic switch cascade operation, is compatible with the ESCON I/O Interface Architecture or to a fabric node supporting the Class 1 service defined by the Fibre Channel ANSI Standard.

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Cary, NC, United States of America

Michael E Underkoffler