Method and device for multipoint switching and arbitration in output-request ...

^602

DETERMINING, BY A RECEIVING IP, DESTINATION EPs FOR A PACKET THAT WAS RECEIVED ON AN INPUT LINK IN ACCORDANCE WITH A FIRST PREDETERMINED SCHEME, GENERATING AN ARRIVAL TAG FOR A PRIMARY DESTINATION EP, PLACING, BY THE IP, A SECONDARIES LABEL IN THE

PACKET, WHEREIN THE SECONDARIES LABEL SPECIFIES "SECONDARY DESTINATIONS" AND STORING THE RECEIVED PACKET IN PACKET MEMORY.

SELECTING, BY THE PRIMARY DESTINATION EP, A STORED TAG IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SECOND PREDETERMINED SCHEME, AND WHERE THE TAG IS AN ARRIVALTAG, SENDING THE SELECTED STORED TAG TO THE

PACKET MEMORY WHERE THE PACKET IS STORED TO REQUEST TRANSMISSION OF THE PACKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL TAG

^610

RECEIVING, BY THE PACKET MEMORY, THE SELECTED ARRIVAL TAG, RETRIEVING THE PACKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL TAG FROM PACKET MEMORY, AND SENDING THE PACKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL TAG TO THE PRIMARY DESTINATION EP ON A PACKET PATHWAY

^■612

RECEIVING, BY THE PRIMARY DESTINATION EP, THE PACKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARRIVAL TAG AND DISPATCHING THE PACKET FROM THE PRIMARYl DESTINATION EP AND MONITORING, BY EACH EP, THE PACKET PATHWAY ANH CAPTURING THE PACKET BY ALL EPs THAT ARE SPECIFIED AS SECONDARY DESTINATIONS IN THE SECONDARIES LABEL OF THE PACKET, WHEREIN THE PACKETS CAPTURED IN SECONDARY DESTINATIONS ARE TERMED "SECONDARY PACKETS"

^614

STORING, BY RECEIVING EPs AT SECONDARY DESTINATIONS, THE SECONDARY^ PACKETS IN EGRESS PACKET MEMORY "GENERATING A SECONDARY TAG" CORRESPONDING TO EACH SECONDARY PACKET AND STORING THE SECONDARY TAG IN A TAG MEMORY ALONG WITH ARRIVAL TAGS.

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SELECTING, BY A SECONDARY DESTINATION EP, A STORED TAG IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SECOND PREDETERMINED SCHEME, AND WHERE THE TAG IS A SECONDARY TAG, RETRIEVING THE PACKET ASSOCIATED WITH THE SECONDARY TAG FROM THE EGRESS PACKET MEMORY AND DISPATCHING THE SECONDARY PACKET FROM THE SECONDARY DESTINATION EP