Networking switching devices and methods thereof

A communication device configured to receive data at a first data rate and to transmit the data at a second data rate that is greater than the first data rate, the communication device comprising:

• a plurality of communication pipelines, each of the communication pipelines comprising:
• a decoder configured to receive a respective input data stream including first data blocks having a first format compatible for transmission at the first data rate;
• a transcoder configured to transcode the first data blocks into second data blocks having a second format compatible for transmission at the second data rate;
• and
• a buffer configured to provide an indication to corresponding downstream device when one of the input data streams that is expected to be received is not received;
• and
• a multiplexer configured to receive the second data blocks from the communication pipelines and to generate an output data stream for transmission at the second data rate even when one of the input data streams that is expected to be received is not received.