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3-1
Chapter 3
Operation
The 9T425-16, 9T427-16, and 9T428-16 SmartSwitch 9000 Modules provide
connectivity between the front panel Token Rings and the INB2 backplane.
SmartSwitch 9000 modules connect to either the Internal Network Bus (INB) or
the Flexible Network Bus (FNB) bus. The 9T425-16, 9T427-16, and 9T428-16
modules connect only to the INB2 bus. Switching may occur between the sixteen
front panel ports and/or to any other SmartSwitch 9000 module via the INB2 Bus.
As shown in the block diagram in Figure 3-1, the Token Ring Network Interface
Blocks (TNIBs) convert data packets received from any of the ports into a
canonical frame format before forwarding to the SmartSwitch 9000 ASIC, while
the Internal Network Bus Network Interface Block (INB NIB) converts data cells
received from the INB into a canonical format before forwarding to the
SmartSwitch 9000 ASIC.