Backplane interface adapter with error control and redundant fabric
AssigneeFoundry Networks, Inc.
InventorsRonak Patel, Ming G. Wong, Yu-Mei Lin, Andrew Chang, Yuen Fai Wong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A backplane interface adapter with error control and redundant fabric for a high-performance network switch. The error control may be provided by an administrative module that includes a level monitor, a stripe synchronization error detector, a flow controller, and a control character presence tracker. The redundant fabric transceiver of the backplane interface adapter improves the adapter's ability to properly and consistently receive narrow input cells carrying packets of data and output wide striped cells to a switching fabric.
Claims23
A method comprising:
- distributing, by a transmitter device, data blocks across a plurality of stripes in a round-robin fashion, wherein the data blocks originate from one or more streams comprising network packets, wherein each data block has a fixed size, and wherein the distributing comprises inserting, between the data blocks, control information in each stripe at a predetermined data block interval, the control information being operable for synchronizing the plurality of stripes at a receiver device;
- and
- transmitting, by the transmitter device, the plurality of stripes in parallel to the receiver device.
A network device comprising:
- one or more hardware control components that distribute data blocks across a plurality of stripes in a round-robin fashion, wherein the data blocks originate from one or more streams comprising network packets, wherein each data block has a fixed size, and wherein the distributing comprises inserting, between the data blocks, control information in each stripe at a predetermined data block interval, the control information being operable for synchronizing the plurality of stripes at a receiver device;
- and
- one or more hardware control components that transmit the plurality of stripes in parallel to the receiver device.
A network device comprising:
- means for distributing data blocks across a plurality of stripes in a round-robin fashion, wherein the data blocks originate from one or more streams comprising network packets, wherein each data block has a fixed size, and wherein the distributing comprises inserting, between the data blocks, control information in each stripe at a predetermined data block interval, the control information being operable for synchronizing the plurality of stripes at a receiver device;
- and
- means for transmitting the plurality of stripes in parallel to the receiver device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.