A UNISWITCH COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF UNITS WHICH ARE DISTRIBUTED LOCALLY AND WHICH ARE CONNECTED BY MEANS OF PHYSICAL LINKS

摘要

A fast operating, combined packet and circuit switch. The switch includes a number of units which are distributed locally and which are mutually connected by means of physical links. In a packet-switched network, which is comprised of packet handlers and the links, each connected unit affects at least one control-time-slot. In this way, each unit is able to operate the circuit switch so as, for instance, to establish and release circuit-switched connections, in response to control commands transmitted on the packet-switched network. As a result of the packet switch, the whole of the switch can be configured at a cold start and during operation, therewith satisfying the individual bandwidth requirement of each connected unit.