Low-latency scheduling in large switches

A method for scheduling a switch, wherein the switch is configured to couple input ports to output ports, comprising:

• determining a schedule for a group of requests, associated with multiple data streams, that are received for the output ports of the switch, wherein the schedule matches input ports to output ports of the switch for a given data cell time, and wherein the schedule is determined using an arbitration technique during a time interval;
• and
• assigning an additional request, which was received at a time that precedes a current time by less than the time interval, to a portion of the switch which is available in the schedule, thereby reducing a latency of the scheduler.

A computer-program product for use in conjunction with a common resource, the computer-program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium and a computer-program mechanism embedded therein for scheduling a switch, wherein the switch is configured to couple input ports to output ports, the computer-program mechanism including:

• instructions for determining a schedule for a group of requests, associated with multiple data streams, that are received for the output ports of the switch, wherein the schedule matches input ports to output ports of the switch for a given data cell time, and wherein the schedule is determined using an arbitration technique during a time interval;
• and
• instructions for assigning an additional request, which was received at a time that precedes a current time by less than the time interval, to a portion of the switch which is available in the schedule, thereby reducing a latency of the scheduler.