Method for cut through forwarding data packets between electronic communication devices

An electronic device comprising:

• a first input unit and a first output unit configured to communicate with other devices according to a network protocol via a communication medium, the network protocol defining data packets comprising data bytes having a predetermined structure including a packet header;
• a first processor configured to perform input control on incoming data packets and perform output control on outgoing data packets;
• a first in first out (FIFO) buffer comprising a multiuser memory, the input of the first FIFO buffer being coupled to the first input unit and the output of the first FIFO buffer being coupled to the first output unit, the first FIFO buffer being shared between the input control and the output control via the multiuser memory, wherein
• the first input unit is arranged to
• receive input data comprising incoming data packets from the communication medium,
• detect the start of a respective data packet,
• subdivide the data bytes of the respective data packet into consecutive segments, one segment having a predetermined number of data bytes, and
• transfer the segment to the first FIFO buffer before the next segment has been completely received;
• the first processor is arranged to
• in the input control, access the multiuser memory for processing the segment, and
• in the output control, initiate outputting the output packet before the corresponding input data packet has been completely received;
• and
• the first output unit is arranged to
• transfer the segment from the first FIFO buffer to the first output unit, and
• transmit the segment to the communication medium.