Supertrunking for packet switching

A router capable of operation within a packet routing system that transfers digital data between a plurality of the routers, the router comprising:

• a route controller;
• a rotator space switch;
• at least one first forwarding node, coupled to both the route controller and the rotator space switch, comprising a load balancing device that, when input with individual packets of a data stream, reads a logical output port corresponding to the data stream, assigns each of the individual packets of the data stream to a physical output port within the logical output port based upon physical link criteria, encapsulates the individual packets with a first routing header that comprises a data stream identifier, a packet sequence identifier, and a physical output port identifier, and outputs the packets to their assigned physical output ports;
• at least one second forwarding node, coupled to both the route controller and the rotator space switch, that is arranged to operate as a physical output port for outputting encapsulated packets to at least one transmission apparatus;
• at least one third forwarding node, coupled to both the route controller and the rotator space switch, that is arranged to operate as a physical input port for receiving encapsulated packets from at least one transmission apparatus;
• and
• at least one fourth forwarding node, coupled to both the route controller and the rotator space switch, comprising a packet sorting device that, when input with encapsulated packets, re-orders the packets into the proper order with use of a sorting algorithm utilizing the packet sequence identifiers and outputs a data stream corresponding to the re-ordered packets.

A packet routing system that transfers digital data between at least one first router and at least one second router, the packet routing system comprising:

• the first router comprising:
• a first route controller;
• a first rotator space switch;at least one first forwarding node, coupled to both the first route controller and the first rotator space switch, comprising a load balancing device that, when input with individual packets of a data stream, reads a logical output port corresponding to the data stream, assigns each of the individual packets of the data stream to a physical output port within the logical output port based upon physical link criteria, encapsulates the individual packets with a first routing header that comprises a data stream identifier, a packet sequence identifier, and a physical output port identifier, and outputs the packets to their assigned physical output ports;
• at least one second forwarding node, coupled to both the first route controller and the first rotator space switch, that is arranged to operate as a physical output port for outputting encapsulated packets to at least one transmission apparatus;
• a plurality of transmission apparatuses coupled between the first and second routers;
• and
• the second router comprising:
• a second route controller;
• a second rotator space switch;
• at least one third forwarding node, coupled to both the second route controller and the second rotator space switch, that is arranged to operate as a physical input port for receiving encapsulated packets from at least one transmission apparatus;
• and at least one fourth forwarding node, coupled to both the second route controller and the second rotator space switch, comprising a packet sorting device that, when input with encapsulated packets, re-orders the packets into the proper order with use of a sorting algorithm utilizing the packet sequence identifiers and outputs a data stream corresponding to the re-ordered packets.

In a packet routing system comprising a plurality of routers, a method of transferring digital data between the routers comprising the steps of:

• inputting individual packets of a data stream into a first router;
• reading a logical output port corresponding to the data stream of the individual packets;
• assigning each of the individual packets of the data stream to a physical output port within the logical output port based upon physical link criteria;
• encapsulating each of the individual packets with a first routing header that comprises a data stream identifier, a packet sequence identifier, and a physical output port identifier corresponding to the assigned physical output port;
• transmitting each of the encapsulated packets, via their assigned physical output port, to a second router;
• re-ordering the resulting packets into the proper order with use of a sorting algorithm utilizing the packet sequence identifiers;
• and
• outputting a data stream corresponding to the re-ordered