| 摘要 |
<p>A communication method and packet switching network (101) in which self-routing packets are communicated among stages of switching nodes via inter-stage links (204-215) whereon data of the packets is transmitted in one direction (210) and the packet clocking signals are transmitted in the other direction (211). Upon having the capability to accept a packet from one of the interstage links, a switch node transmits the packet clock signals to the upstream stage connect to that link indicating the present capacity to accept a packet. Furthermore, each switch node after receiving the end of a packet from an upstream stage waits for a predefined duration of time before commencing the transmission of the packet clocking signals. That delay allows the transmitting switch node i the upstream stage to determine that the link and downstream node are functioning correctly since continued transmission of the packet clock signals indicates that the packet had not been received or that downstream node had incorrectly responded to receipt of the packet. If a malfunction is detected, an error indication is transmitted to the computer controlling the switching network.</p> |
