Abstract: The invention concerns a method of managing traffic for a virtual connection of a packet-based communications network, said method consisting in: transmitting packets from source customer-premises equipment to destination customer-premises equipment; time-division multiplexing the packets coming from the various source customer-premises equipment; measuring the data-rate of the multiplexed packets; temporarily storing the multiplexed packets in a queue; transmitting the stored packets over the virtual connection; determining a channel utilization factor related to the rate at which packets are transmitted over the virtual connection towards the destination customer-premises equipment; and transmitting the channel utilization factor to data-rate management means so as to control the send information rate upstream from the multiplexing; the channel utilization factor taking into account the length of the queue and the time taken to transmit the factor to the data-rate management means so as to prevent the qu

Abstract: A switch that makes it possible in real-time to determine paths that are suitable for interconnecting line termination functional entities of couplers. The switch includes a centralization device capable of centralizing information concerning the state of all the line termination functional entity situated in the couplers and a centralization device common to all couplers of the switch to centralize, in particular, all of the information centralized by the first centralizing device. Additionally, the switch is capable of establishing a routing table listing all of the active paths existing between frame relaying line termination functional entities. The switch is particularly applicable to distributors for frame relaying links.

Abstract: A type of switching fabric for exchanging variable-size frames of digital information between frame processors coupled directly or indirectly to one or more digital communication lines. It comprises one or more multi-line serial communication controllers (MSCCs), and a backplane providing a full mesh of serial point-to-point bi-directional links between each MSCC, and, in a loopback, from each MSCC back to itself. The MSCCs collectively manage the transfer of variable-size frames between the frame processors. To transfer digital information from a source line to a destination line, a frame processor coupled to the ingress line drives the switching fabric by signaling its MSCC that there is information. The ingress MSCC then switches the digital information through the backplane to the MSCC serving the frame processor coupled to the egress line. The switching fabric uses a clocking scheme that makes possible high throughput rates.