Concurrent fault detection for a multiple-plane packet switch

In high-speed and high-capacity packet switches, system reliability is critical to avoid loss of huge amounts of information and retransmission of traffic. We propose a series of concurrent fault-detection mechanisms for a multiple-plane crossbar-based packet switch. Our switch model, called the m + z model, has m active planes and z spare planes. This switch has distributed arbiters on each plane. The spare planes, used for substitution of faulty active ones, are also used in the fault-detection mechanism, thus providing fault detection and fault location for all switching planes. Our detection schemes are able to quickly detect a single fault without increasing transmission overhead. The proposed schemes can be used for switches with different numbers of active planes and a small number of spare planes.