Apparatus and method of crosschecking data copies using one or more voter elements

A method of operating a network switch that comprises a receive port, a processing section, and a send port, the method comprising:

• receiving data via the receive port of the network switch;
• providing first copies of the data to multiple parallel first paths of the network switch between the receive port and the processing section;
• at each of the first paths, performing a check on a first copy of the data and generating a protection for the first copy of the data;
• crosschecking, at the network switch, second copies of the data received from the first paths;
• in response to the crosschecking of the second copies of the data indicating that at least some of the second copies match each other and are valid, processing, at the processing section, valid data from at least one of the second copies of the data that match each other and are valid;
• providing third copies of the data to multiple parallel second paths of the network switch between the processing section and the send port;
• at each second path of the multiple parallel second paths, performing multiple checks on a third copy of the data, the multiple checks comprising a check based on the protection;
• crosschecking, at the network switch, fourth copies of the data received from the second paths;
• and
• in response to crosschecking the fourth copies of the data, selectively sending, from the network switch, one or more of the fourth copies of the data via the send port, to a next network element.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processor to initiate, perform, or control operations, the operations comprising, at a network switch that comprises a receive port, a processing section, and a send port:

• receiving data via the receive port of the network switch;
• providing first copies of the data to multiple parallel first paths of the network switch between the receive port and the processing section;
• at each of the first paths, performing a check on a first copy of the data and generating a protection for the first copy of the data;
• crosschecking, at the network switch, second copies of the data received from the first paths;
• in response to the crosschecking of the second copies of the data indicating that at least some of the second copies match each other and are valid, processing, at the processing section, valid data from at least one of the second copies of the data that match each other and are valid;
• providing third copies of the data to multiple parallel second paths of the network switch between the processing section and the send port;
• at each second path of the multiple parallel second paths, performing multiple checks on a third copy of the data, the multiple checks comprising a check based on the protection;
• crosschecking, at the network switch, fourth copies of the data received from the second paths;
• and
• in response to crosschecking the fourth copies of the data, selectively sending, from the network switch, one or more of the fourth copies of the data via the send port, to a next network element.