Abstract: A connection control interface for switches in a network is provided. The connection control interface allows the multiservice switch to provide a number of switch resource partitions to a number of independent controllers coupled to the switch. The switch resource partitions comprise a number of subsets of switch resources that define a number of independent subset networks of a physical network. The connection control interface allows the independent controllers to control the connections of the switch using the number of switch resource partitions. The independent controllers each use one of a number of control systems, the control systems comprising a network software level. The independent controllers comprise a virtual switch interface having a master component and a slave component where the master and slave components may be hosted on different processors. The slave components may be hosted on a control card that controls a number of port cards of the switch or on a port card processor.

Abstract: A machine and method for allowing a simulated processor environment to interact with a simulated digital environment to simulate a processor-based system. Embodiments of the present invention contemplate that interaction between the processor environment and digital environment can be implemented by providing the processor environment with a list of "significant events" (e.g., reads and writes) that are pertinent to the digital environment. Embodiments of the present invention also contemplate that the processor environment and digital environment can be synchronized by allowing operations to occur on either the processor environment or the digital environment, but not on both simultaneously.