Virtual junctors
AssigneeNortel Networks Limited
InventorsDENNY LANDAVERI, MICHEL KHOUDERCHAH, CHENG HSIANG
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention guarantees that voice data (and other information types) will switch within a predetermined time period. Systems and methods consistent with the present invention accomplish this guarantee by, among other things, establishing permanent virtual paths or circuits between each network element, guaranteeing each voice line a slot in a packet in each frame, employing both octet switching and packet switching, synchronizing the operation of the network elements to a reference clock, and providing several levels of network redundancy.
Claims6
A multiple node switching stage, connected to plural controllers, for providing ATM cell switching and cell slot switching of time-division multiplex (TDM) data, comprising:
- a first switching stage comprising an inter-node switch;
- and
- a second switching stage comprising first and second network elements, each network element including
- means for receiving incoming ATM cells from at least one controller;
- means for separately switching each cell slot in the incoming ATM cells into cell slots in outgoing ATM cells in intra-node communications;
- and means for transmitting the incoming ATM cells to the first switching stage in inter-node communications;
- wherein the inter-node switch comprises an ATM switch connected to the first and second network elements by permanent virtual paths.
A method for providing inter-node packet switching in a network having multiple switching elements, comprising the steps of:
- storing permanent virtual paths that separately connect each switching element to the other switching elements through an inter-node switch;
- receiving packet data from a first switching element at a constant rate;
- switching the packet data from the first switching element onto a permanent virtual path connected to a second switching element;
- and
- transmitting the packet data to the second switching element at the constant rate.
A method for providing inter-node communication in a network including multiple switching elements, the steps of the method comprising:
- storing permanent virtual paths interconnecting each switching element to all of the other switching elements;
- receiving packets from the multiple switching elements;
- routing a packet received from a first switching element to a second switching element by switching the packet from a permanent virtual path connected to the first switching element to a permanent virtual path connected to the second switching element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.