Multi-plane network switch

A device comprising:

• a plurality of header planes, each of the header planes comprising an input queue, an output queue, a request crossbar connected to the input queue and the output queue, and a grant crossbar connected to the input queue and the output queue;
• a receiver;
• and
• a header plane selector configured to:
• receive a transfer request for a packet from the receiver;
• select a header plane by calculating a flow hash for the packet by hashing fields in a header of the packet, the header plane being selected based on the flow hash;
• and
• queue the transfer request at the input queue of the header plane.

A method comprising:

• selecting a header plane, the header plane controlling transfer of a packet from an input buffer to an output buffer, the header plane comprising an input queue and an output queue;
• calculating a flow hash for the packet by hashing fields in a header of the packet, the header plane being selected based on the flow hash;
• sending a transfer request from the input queue of the header plane to the output queue of the header plane;
• receiving a transfer grant from the output queue of the header plane at the input queue of the header plane, the transfer grant comprising a sequence number for the packet;
• transferring the packet and the sequence number from the input buffer to the output buffer;
• and
• reading the packet from the output buffer based on the sequence number.