Abstract: A high speed data packet switch comprising input and output ports and a switch fabric to link each input port to each output port wherein each connection between input and output ports comprises a dynamic buffer memory for storing at least one data packet for a minimum specified storing time is disclosed. When a data packet is received through an input port, it is written in all individual dynamic memory buffers connected to this input port so as to have a copy of the incoming data packet ready to go through any output port to support unicast, multicast and broadcast traffic. Given the architecture of the data packet switch and its control algorithm, dynamic memory buffers neither need to be refreshed nor their contents have to be restored after reading.

Abstract: A system and a method to avoid packet traffic congestion in a shared memory switch core, while dramatically reducing the amount of shared memory in the switch core and the associated egress buffers and handling unicast as well as multicast traffic. According to the invention, the virtual output queuing (VOQ) of all ingress adapters of a packet switch fabric are collapsed into its central switch core to allow an efficient flow control. The transmission of data packets from an ingress buffer to the switch core is subject to a mechanism of request/acknowledgment. Therefore, a packet is transmitted from a virtual output queue to the memory shared switch core only if the switch core can send it to the corresponding egress buffer. A token based mechanism allows the switch core to determine the egress buffer's level of occupation. Therefore, since the switch core knows the states of the input and output adapters, it is able to optimize packet switching and to avoid packet congestion.