Importance

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Abstract

A method of switching synchronous and asynchronous data packets through a multi-stage interconnection network (MIN), so as to insure that packets with the highest assignable priority level will never be blocked at any stage of the network. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of switching voice and data packets over the MIN wherein each of the address bits in each packet determine the connection to be established at each particular stage in the network and wherein each packet has therein a priority level. In each time slot of a frame, the priority level of the packets stored in a particular originating adapter are compared and the packet with the highest priority level in each adapter is forwarded through the MIN and routed through the MIN as described above. Also, at each subswitch at each stage of the MIN, if two or more packets request the same subswitch output, only the packet with the higher priority is forwarded to the subswitch output. A packet will be assigned the highest priority only if a corresponding packet for a given circuit connection with second highest priority level was successfully transmitted through the MIN.

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First Claim