3com S7900E Advanced Fabric Module Internal 384Gbit/s network switch component

Switch S7900E Advanced Fabric Module High-Performance Advanced Switch Fabric for the Switch S7900E
The 3Com® Switch S7900E Fabric Module is the engine of the Switch S7900E, performing the route calculations and maintaining the Layer 2 and Layer 3 forwarding tables. The switch fabric also contains a high-speed crossbar connecting all the modules attached to the backplane. Extended forwarding tables provide advanced capabilities.

In the 3Com Switch S7900E, all the Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching and routing is fully distributed between the I/O modules. For I/O modules with limited memory, such as the Switch S7900E 48-Port 10/100/1000BASE-T Access Module, the switch fabric can use its own forwarding tables to provide additional performance.

The switch fabric also manages the entire system, performing such functions as initialization and configuration, and providing environmental monitoring, software upgrades and system control. Separate traces in the backplane keep the data plane completely separate from the control plane.

An optional second switch fabric doubles the available bandwidth as well as providing redundancy. In case of failure of a switch fabric, the remaining fabric will take over in sub-second time.