Packet switching fabric using the segmented ring with resource reservation control

Abstract

A packet switching fabric includes a data ring, a control ring, a plurality of network links each coupled to at least one network node, and a plurality of switching devices coupled together by the data ring and the control ring so that the network links can be selectively communicatively coupled. Each of the switching devices includes: a data ring sub-system for transmitting and receiving bursts of data via data ring channels concurrently active on the data ring; a network interface coupled to the data ring sub-system and having at least one network port for transmitting and receiving data packets to and from one of the network links, the network interface also having a packet buffer for storing the data packets, the packet buffer providing bursts of packet data to the data ring sub-system via a plurality of concurrently active packet buffer channels; and a control ring sub-system coupled to the data ring sub-system and to the network interface and being responsive to control messages received from an adjacent one of the devices via the control ring, and operative to develop and transmit the control messages to an adjacent one of the devices via the control ring, the control messages for reserving bandwidth resources used in setting up and controlling the data ring channels and the packet buffer channels, the control ring sub-system also being operative to perform queuing operations for controlling the transfer of the bursts of packet data from the packet buffer to the data ring sub-system.