ALSO CALLED: Switched Fabric, Fabric Switch, and Switching Fabric
DEFINITION: Switching fabric is the combination of hardware and software that moves data coming in to a network node out by the correct port (door) to the next node in the network. The term suggests that the near synonym, switch, tends to make switching seem like a simple hardware function. Switching fabric includes the switching units (individual boxes) in a node, the integrated circuits  … 
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SWITCH FABRIC DEFINITION (continued): …  that they contain, and the programming that allows switching paths to be controlled. The switching fabric is independent of the bus technology and infrastructure used to move data between nodes and also separate from the router. The term is sometimes used to mean collectively all switching hardware and software in a network.

The term apparently uses the woven material metaphor to suggest the possible complexity and web-like structure of switching paths and ports within a node.

The Signal Computing System Architecture (SCSA), which provides a model framework for … 
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