Claims
- 1. A crossbar switching fabric comprising:
a plurality of crossbar input ports and a plurality of crossbar output ports, wherein traffic from at least one source is directed to more than one of said plurality of crossbar input ports, and wherein traffic from more than one crossbar output port is directed to at least one destination.
- 2. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 1, wherein an input flexibilty layer is inserted between the traffic sources the crossbar input ports.
- 3. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 1, wherein an input flexibilty layer is inserted between the traffic sources the crossbar input ports.
- 4. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 1, wherein if srci represents one source and inpi are plurality of inputs corresponding to the plurality of input ports and k represents a level of flexibility, then traffic is directed in such a way that srci is directed to all inputs corresponding to inpi . . . inpi+k.
- 5. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 4, wherein if i+k exceeds the number of inputs, then traffic is wrapped around by redirecting traffic intended for inputs corresponding to i+k that exceed the number of inputs to inputs 1 . . . i.
- 6. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 1, wherein if srci represents one source and inpi are the plurality of inputs corresponding to the plurality of input ports, n represents the number of inputs and k represents a level of flexibility, then traffic is directed in such a way that srci is directed to all inputs corresponding to inpi . . . inpmax(i+k,n).
- 7. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 6, wherein sources ports known to have less traffic are designated to be last n−k+2 sources, where n is a number of sources and k is a level of flexibility.
- 8. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 4, wherein the fabric comprises an input flexibility layer including at least one multiplexer connected to one of the plurality of input ports.
- 9. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 4, wherein the fabric comprises an input flexibility layer including at least one multiplexer connected to one of the plurality of output ports.
- 10. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 8, wherein the multiplexer is a tri-state buffer.
- 11. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 9, wherein the multiplexer is a tri-state buffer.
- 12. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 8, wherein flexibility is implemented by varying a size of the multiplexer.
- 13. The crossbar switching fabric of claim 9, wherein flexibility is implemented by varying a size of the multiplexer.
- 14. A crossbar switching fabric comprising a plurality of crossbar input ports wherein traffic from at least one source is directed to more than one of said plurality of crossbar input ports.
- 15. A crossbar switching fabric comprising a plurality of crossbar output ports wherein traffic from at least one crossbar output port is directed to at least one destination.
- 16. A method of scheduling for a flexible crossbar switch comprising:
a) generating k2 requests for each routing request coming from an input source, wherein k corresponds to a level of flexibility offered by the crossbar switch; b) recombining requests for a same route; c) sending requests to a crossbar scheduler; and d) arbitrating requests from different ports making a request if a connection corresponding to the request is granted.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein a priority scheme is used in arbitrating.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the priority scheme takes into account a quality of service required.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This Application claims priority from co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/325,166, filed Sep. 28, 2001, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60325166 |
Sep 2001 |
US |