Cut-through packet management

A system comprising:

• processing circuitry implemented in a network node, the processing circuitry comprising:
• circuitry that initiates an error detection operation on a portion of a packet received by the network node to generate a checksum value;
• circuitry that determines whether to insert a debug indicator into the packet in response to comparing the checksum value to a frame check sequence included in the packet;
• and
• circuitry that forwards the portion of the packet to a next network node.

A method comprising:

• determining a packet processing scheme, the packet processing scheme being one of a cut-through packet processing scheme or a store-and-forward packet processing scheme;
• processing an inbound packet in a network node according to the packet processing scheme;
• and
• performing an error detection operation on the inbound packet in response to the packet processing scheme being the store-and-forward packet processing scheme.