Network fabric access device with multiple system side interfaces

Abstract

A fabric access device comprising a plurality of system interfaces is disclosed. The fabric access device includes a fabric interface configured to receive data from and send data to a switch fabric and a routing circuit configured to send data received on one of the plurality of system interfaces to the switch fabric via the fabric interface. The inclusion of a plurality of system interfaces facilitates a variety of configurations that provide different levels of redundancy and optimize use of available bandwidth.

1 . A fabric access device comprising: 
 a plurality of system interfaces;    a fabric interface configured to receive data from and send data to a switch fabric; and    a routing circuit configured to send the data received on one of the plurality of system interfaces to the switch fabric via the fabric interface.    
   
   
       2 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of system interfaces being configured to receive data from and send data to one or more external systems.  
   
   
       3 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of system interfaces simultaneously receive data, and the data received on one of the plurality of system interfaces is at least in part different from the data received on another one of the plurality of interfaces.  
   
   
       4 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein a first one of the plurality of system interfaces is configurable to receive data from and send data to a first external system, and a second one of the plurality of system interfaces is configurable to receive data from and send data to a second external system.  
   
   
       5 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to another fabric access device.  
   
   
       6 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to an input/output module.  
   
   
       7 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to a system port associated with the fabric access device.  
   
   
       8 . A fabric access device as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising at least another fabric interface configured to receive data from and send data to a switch fabric, wherein all the fabric interfaces has less than twice the capacity as the plurality of system interfaces.  
   
   
       9 . A method of transferring data, comprising: 
 receiving data on a plurality of system interfaces; and    routing the received data to a switch fabric via a fabric interface.    
   
   
       10 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of system interfaces is configured to receive data from and send data to one or more external systems  
   
   
       11 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the data is simultaneously received on the plurality of system interfaces, and the data received on one of the plurality of system interfaces is at least in part different from the data received on another one of the plurality of interfaces.  
   
   
       12 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein a first one of the plurality of system interfaces is configurable to receive data from and send data to a first external system, and a second one of the plurality of system interfaces is configurable to receive data from and send data to a second external system.  
   
   
       13 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to a first fabric access device and one or more of the system interfaces is connected to a second fabric access device.  
   
   
       14 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to an input/output module.  
   
   
       15 . A method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein one or more of the system interfaces is connected to a system port associated with a fabric access device.  
   
   
       16 . A fabric access system comprising: 
 a plurality of system interfaces;    a fabric interfaces configured to receive data from and send data to a switch fabric; and    a routing circuit configured to: 
 in a first mode, send data received on the plurality of system interfaces to the switch fabric via the fabric interface;  
 in a second mode, send data received on a first one of the plurality of system interfaces to a second one of the plurality of system interfaces.  
   
   
   
       17 . A fabric access system as recited in  claim 16 , where in at least one of the plurality of system interfaces is coupled to a first fabric access node, and at least one of the plurality of system interfaces is coupled to a second fabric access node.  
   
   
       18 . A fabric access system as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of system interfaces is coupled to a fabric access node.  
   
   
       19 . A method of transferring data, comprising: 
 receiving data on a first system interface;    in a first mode, routing the received data to a switch fabric via a fabric interfaces; and    in a second mode, routing the received data to a second system interface.    
   
   
       20 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , where the first system interface is coupled to a first fabric access node, and the second system interface is coupled to a second fabric access node.  
   
   
       21 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein routing the received data includes routing the received data via a plurality of fabric interfaces, a first one of the plurality of fabric interfaces is associated with a first fabric access node, and a second one of the plurality of fabric interfaces is associated with a second fabric access node.  
   
   
       22 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein: 
 routing the received data includes: 
 routing the received data via a plurality of fabric interfaces, a first one of the plurality of fabric interfaces is associated with a first fabric access node, and a second one of the plurality of fabric interfaces is associated with a second fabric access node;  
 determining whether the first fabric access node has failed;  
 in the event that the first fabric access node has failed, transferring data via a failover interface to a second fabric access device to be forwarded to the switch fabric.  
   
   
   
       23 . A method as recited in  claim 22 , wherein the data received includes a data cell; and in the event that the first fabric access node has failed, further comprising changing an address of the data cell to send the data cell via an appropriate path.  
   
   
       24 . A method as recited in  claim 19 , wherein the first and the second system interfaces are coupled to a fabric access node.