Abstract: In an Ethernet network element comprising at least one line interface element and a central processing unit (CPU) to control forwarding of data packets at the network element, a method comprising receiving continuity check messages (CCMs) at the at least one line interface element, and processing the CCMs in the at least one line interface element to provide continuity checks for connections to the network element without requiring processing of CCMs by the CPU.

Abstract: A network element disposed at an edge of a connectivity fault management (CFM) domain includes a switch fabric, a central processor (CP) card, and a line card in communication with the CP card through the switch fabric. The line card includes an Ethernet interface for transmitting and receiving Ethernet CFM frames over a network and circuitry configured to generate new continuity check messages (CCMs) periodically, to process CCMs received on each connection supported by the line card, and to detect a loss of continuity for any of the connections supported by the line card. The line card maintains a list of supported connections. A generate timer and an age counter are associated with each connection in the list. The line card generates a CCM for a given connection when the generate timer expires and detects a loss of continuity for the given connection when its age counter exceeds a threshold.

Abstract: A network element disposed at an edge of a connectivity fault management (CFM) domain includes a switch fabric, a central processor (CP) card, and a line card in communication with the CP card through the switch fabric. The line card includes an Ethernet interface for transmitting and receiving Ethernet CFM frames over a network and circuitry configured to generate new continuity check messages (CCMs) periodically, to process CCMs received on each connection supported by the line card, and to detect a loss of continuity for any of the connections supported by the line card. The line card maintains a list of supported connections. A generate timer and an age counter are associated with each connection in the list. The line card generates a CCM for a given connection when the generate timer expires and detects a loss of continuity for the given connection when its age counter exceeds a threshold.

Abstract: An optical switch router performs both optical switching and traditional routing. The optical switch router includes optical interfaces for coupling to one or more incoming optical fibers and to one or more outgoing optical fibers, and also includes a number of traditional router ports. Individual incoming optical data streams received over the incoming optical fiber(s) can be selectively passed through to one or more of the outgoing optical fibers or “dropped” from the optical communication path for traditional routing. Routed traffic, which can be received over the router ports or from the “dropped” optical data streams, can be forwarded over optical data streams that are “added” to the outgoing optical fiber(s). The “added” optical data streams may be added to the outgoing optical fiber(s) at any unused wavelengths, including, but not limited to, the wavelengths of the “dropped” optical data streams.

Abstract: An external memory engine selectable pipeline architecture provides external memory to a multi-thread packet processor which processes data packets using a multi-threaded pipelined machine wherein no instruction depends on a preceding instruction because each instruction in the pipeline is executed for a different thread. The route switch packet architecture transfers a data packet from a flexible data input buffer to a packet task manager, dispatches the data packet from the packet task manager to a multi-threaded pipelined analysis machine, classifies the data packet in the analysis machine, modifies and forwards the data packet in a packet manipulator.