Dynamically configurable buffer for a computer network

A network buffer for receiving data packets on an input bus, storing the data packets, and thereafter forwarding the data packets on an output bus, wherein said data packets vary in size between a maximum size and a minimum size, the network buffer comprising:

• a buffer memory for storing the data packets;
• and
• a buffer manager for receiving the data packets arriving on said input bus and writing them into said buffer memory, wherein said buffer memory includes a set of packet buffers, each of which is large enough to store said maximum size data packet, wherein each packet buffer is subdivided into a plurality of packet cells, each of which is large enough to store a data packet of said minimum size but too small to store a data packet of said maximum size, wherein received data packet that is too large to be stored in a single packet cell is stored by itself in a plurality of packet cells of an unoccupied packet buffer, wherein each packet that is small enough to be stored in a single packet cell is stored by itself in an unoccupied packet cell, wherein a packet buffer is unoccupied when it stores no data packet and wherein a packet cell is unoccupied when it stores no packet data.

A dynamically configurable buffer, the buffer comprising:

• a buffer memory;
• and
• a buffer manager for receiving data packets of various sizes, for organizing the buffer memory into a set of uniform sized packet buffers, for further organizing each packet buffer into a plurality of smaller packet cells of uniform size, for determining a size of each received data packet, for storing each received data packet in multiple packet cells of an unoccupied packet buffer when the received data packet is too large to be stored in a single packet cell, and for storing each received data packet in an unoccupied packet cell when the received data packet is small enough to be stored in a single packet cell.