The flow of data currently being exchanged between end-users attached to digital networks are rapidly increasing and soon leading to saturation of presently available communication networks.
Also contributing to jamming the flow of data throughout the network are the so called integration techniques whereby voice or video derived data are merged with pure data to be transferred over same network facilities.
Conventionally, once sampled and digitally encoded voice and video signals provide bit streams (i.e. data) not fundamentally different from pure data. They can therefor use the same communication means to be transported from one location to another over the network. Said networks are often rather complex, with concentrating nodes all over, said nodes including communication controllers managing data transfers.
To that end data are often arranged into cells, i.e. fixed length packets.
Each cell individually includes two different types of data. One relating to the very information to be conveyed from one end user to another; the other including "service" data for orienting the former defined information data throughout the network and for controlling and checking any packet loss. Thus, generally speaking, each cell would include an information field and a so called header field.
Different approaches have been used for organizing the data transfer network architecture. Some architectures involve checking for data integrity at each network node, thus slowering the data transfer. Others are essentially looking for high speed data transfer. The present invention belongs essentially to the latter. To that end, one needs developing high performance switching techniques, wherein flowing packets are switched within the nodes and towards their final destination at the highest possible rate.
Known techniques for designing said switching systems provide more or less flexible and efficient structures.