Network control arrangement for processing a plurality of connection requests

A method for use in an arrangement comprising a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets, sad arrangement further comprising means for storing busy/idle information for path components of said network, said method comprising

• reading said storing means to identify an idle path from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets,
• after identifying an idle path from said first inlet to said first outlet, marking path components of said identified path busy in said storing means and
• before said marking, accessing said storing means to find an idle path from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets,
• wherein said storing means comprises first and second memory means each for storing busy/idle information for all path components for all paths of said network,
• wherein said reading comprises reading said first memory means,
• wherein said marking comprises marking all path components of said identified path busy in both said first and second memory means, and
• wherein said accessing comprises accessing said second memory means.

A method for use in an arrangement comprising a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets, said arrangement further comprising means for storing busy/idle information for all path components for all paths of said network, said method comprising

• reading said storing means to identify an idle path from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets,
• after identifying an idle path from said first inlet to said first outlet, marking path components of said identified path busy in said storing means and
• before said marking, accessing said storing means to find an idle path from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets,
• wherein said reading comprises
• reading busy/idle information from said storing means, and
• processing said read information, concurrently with said accessing, to identify an idle path from said first inlet to said first outlet.

A method for use in an arrangement comprising a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets, said arrangement further comprising means for storing busy/idle information for all path components for all paths of said network, said method comprising

• reading said storing means to determine all idle path from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets,
• after determining all idle paths from said first inlet to said first outlet, selecting one of said determined idle paths,
• after selecting one of said determined idle paths, marking all path components of said selected path busy in said storing means and
• before said marking but not before said reading, accessing said storing means to determine all idle paths from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets.

An arrangement comprising

• a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets,
• means for storing busy/idle information for path components of said network,
• means responsive to a request for a first connection from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets for reading busy/idle information from said storing means,
• means responsive to said read busy/idle information for identifying an idle path through said network for said first connection,
• means responsive to identification of said first connection path by said identifying means for marking path components of said first connection path as busy in said storing means, and
• means responsive to a request for a second connection from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets for controlling said reading means to read, before said first connection path components are marked busy by said marking means, busy/idle information from said storing means to identify an idle path through said network for said second connection,
• wherein said controlling means comprises
• means for determining whether all paths of said network from said first inlet to said first outlet are disjoint from all paths of said network from said second inlet to said second outlet, and
• wherein said controlling means controls said reading from said storing means to identify said second connection path only in response to a determination by said determining means that all paths of said network from said first inlet to said first outlet are disjoint from all paths of said network from said second inlet to said second outlet.

An arrangement comprising

• a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets,
• means for storing busy/idle information for path components of said network,
• means responsive to a request for a first connection from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets for reading busy/idle information from said storing means,
• means responsive to said read busy/idle information for identifying an idle path through said network for said first connection,
• means responsive to identification of said first connection path by said identifying means for marking path components of said first connection path as busy in said storing means, and
• means responsive to a request for a second connection from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets for controlling said reading means to read, before said first connection path components are marked busy by said marking means, busy/idle information from said storing means to identify an idle path through said network for said second connection,
• wherein said storing means comprises first and second memory means each for storing busy/idle information for all path components for all paths of said network,
• wherein said reading means is responsive to said request for said first connection for reading busy/idle information from said first means to identity said first connection path,
• wherein said marking means is responsive to said identification of said first connection path for marking all path components of said first connection path as busy in both said first and second memory means, and
• wherein said controlling means is responsive to said request for said second connection for controlling said reading means to read busy/idle information from said second memory means to identify said second connection path concurrently with reading busy/idle information from said first memory means to identify said first connection path.

An arrangement comprising

• a network for interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets,
• means for storing busy/idle information for all path components for all paths of said network,
• means responsive to a request for a first connection from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets for reading busy/idle information from said storing means,
• means responsive to said read busy/idle information for identifying an idle path through said network for said first connection,
• means responsive to identification of said first connection path by said identifying means for marking path components of said first connection path as busy in said storing means, and
• means responsive to a request for a second connection from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets for controlling said reading means to read, before said first connection path components are marked busy by said marking means, busy/idle information from said storing means to identify an idle path through said network for said second connection,
• wherein said identifying means comprises
• means for processing read busy/idle information to identify said first connection path, and
• wherein said controlling means controls reading from said storing means to identify said second connection path concurrently with said processing means processing to identify said first connection path.

A method for use in an arrangement comprising a network having a plurality of stages, said network for providing paths for selectively interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets, said arrangement further comprising a plurality of groups of storage locations, each group of storage locations being addressable via an address bus common to that group and storing stage busy/idle information for all of said paths of said network through an associated one of said stages, said method comprising

• in response to a request for a connection from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets, reading stored stage busy/idle information from each of said groups of storage locations,
• processing said read information to identify an idle one of said paths from said first inlet through said network to said first outlet,
• after identifying said idle path from said first inlet through said network to said first outlet, marking as busy the storage location from each of said groups that corresponds to said identified path and
• before said marking, not before said reading, and without otherwise modifying any storage location of said groups in response to said request, accessing stored stage busy/idle information from each of said groups of storage locations to find an idle one of said paths from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets.

A method for use in an arrangement comprising a network having a plurality of stages, said network for providing paths for selectively interconnecting any of a plurality of inlets with any of a plurality of outlets, said arrangement further comprising a plurality of groups of first storage locations, each group of first storage locations being addressable via an address bus common to that group and storing stage busy/idle information for all of said paths of said network through an associated one of said stages, said arrangement further comprising a plurality of groups of second storage locations, each group of second storage locations being addressable via an address bus common to that group and storing stage busy/idle information for all of said paths of said network through an associated one of said stages, said method comprising

• in response to a request for a connection from a first one of said inlets through said network to a first one of said outlets, reading stored stage busy/idle information from each of said groups of first storage locations,
• processing said read information to identify an idle one of said paths from said first inlet through said network to said first outlet,
• after identifying said idle path from said first inlet through said network to said first outlet, marking as busy the storage location from each of said groups of first storage locations that corresponds to said identified path and the storage location from each of said groups of second storage locations that corresponds to said identified path and
• before said marking, not before said reading, and without otherwise modifying any storage location of said groups of said first storage locations and said groups of second storage locations in response to said request, accessing stored stage busy/idle information from each of said groups of second storage locations to find an idle one of said paths from a second one of said inlets through said network to a second one of said outlets.

An arrangement comprising

• a network having a plurality of inlets and a plurality of outlets and comprising a plurality of stages,
• a plurality of means each for storing stage busy/idle information for an associated one of said stages, and
• means responsive to a request for a connection from a specified one of said inlets through said network to a specified one of said outlets for combining stage busy/idle information concurrently from at least three of said storing means to hunt for an idle path for said connection,
• wherein each of said plurality of storing means comprises
• first and second duplicate means each for storing the same stage busy/idle information for an associated one of said stages, and wherein said combining means comprises
• means responsive to a request for a first connection from a first specified one of said inlets through said network to a first specified one of said outlets and a request for a second connection from a second specified one of said inlets through said network to a second specified one of said outlets for effecting a reading of stage busy/idle information concurrently from the first and second duplicate means of said at least three storing means to hunt for a first idle path for said first connection and for a second idle path for said second connection.