Integrated Device Technology, Inc.

Zettacom, Inc.

Toan D Tran

Robert James Divivier

Siyad Ma

A network switch port includes a cell memory, a queuing system, a data path controller and an output buffer. The data path controller stores incoming cells derived from network data transmissions in the cell memory. The queuing system generates the cell memory address of each stored cell when the cell is to be forwarded from the cell memory, and the data path controller appends the cell memory address of that cell to a linked list of addresses of cells to be forwarded from the memory. When the linked list is not empty, the data path controller forwards cells from the cell memory to the output buffer in the order that their cell memory addresses were appended to the linked list. The output buffer stores and then sequentially forwards the cells outward from the switch port to a receiving network component which store them in a cell buffer until it can forward them elsewhere. The receiving network component produces a multiple bit back pressure data indicating how much of its cell buffer is currently filled with cells. Depending on the fill amount the back pressure data indicates, the output buffer either halts or continues to forward cells to the receiving network component, and either halts or continues allowing the data path controller to forward cells from the cell memory to the output buffer.

Back pressure control system for network switch port

A traffic manager for a network switch port includes a buffer memory and a buffer manager for writing incoming cells into the buffer memory and for thereafter reading the cells out of the buffer memory and forwarding them. The traffic manager also includes a queue manager for determining an order in which the buffer manager is to forward a set of cells stored in the buffer memory. The queue manager supplies the buffer manager with a sequence of pointers, each pointer referencing a separate cell of the set of cells, with the sequence of pointers being ordered to indicate an order in which the buffer manager is to forward the set of cells. After receiving the pointer sequence, the buffer manager changes the order of pointers in the pointer sequence to optimize a rate at which it can read the cells out of the buffer memory. The buffer manager reads the cells out of the buffer memory in an order indicated by the changed pointer sequence and thereafter forwards the cells read out of the buffer memory in the order in which the queue manager determined the cells are to be forwarded.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Toan D Tran