SELF ROUTING PACKET SWITCHING NETWORK WITH INTRASTAGE PACKET COMMUNICATION

A SELF-ROUTING PACKET SWITCHING NETWORK WITH INTRASTATE PACKET COMMUNICATION A communication method and packet switching system in which self-routing packets are communicated through the system by intra-communication of the packets within the stages of the network as well as inter-communication of the packets among stages. The switching network comprises stages each having a plurality of pairs of switching nodes with each pair having an intra-node between the pair of nodes. Each of the switching nodes comprises input controllers and output controllers. The input controller of a node is responsive to the receipt of a packet for interrogating the address field of the packet to determine the destination of the packet. The input control on the basis of the destination determination communicates the packet towards the destination via either an inter-stage link or an intra-node link on the basis of availability of the links and an internal control circuit. If a packet is transmitted via an intra-node link to the paired node the latter then transmits the packet via its output controller to the next stage via an inter-stage link. If both the intra-node link and the inter-stage link are available, the internal control circuit then determines which link should be utilized in communicating the packet. The internal destination circuit performs this designating function on the basis of a random number generator.