System and method for interoperability between multiple networks

1. A system for interoperating between a first real time network and one or more second real time networks, the system comprising:

a plurality of ports, comprising:

at least one port coupled to the first real time network, wherein the first real time network carries first traffic comprising best effort traffic and first real time traffic; and

one or more ports coupled respectively to the one or more second real time networks, wherein each of the one or more second real time networks carries second traffic comprising only second real time traffic, and wherein the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks operate according to different protocols; and

switch circuitry, coupled to the plurality of ports, wherein the switch circuitry is configured with a mapping that specifies data routing between the plurality of ports;

wherein the switch circuitry is configured to route packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks based on the mapping, thereby maintaining real time behavior between the first real time traffic and the second real time traffic, wherein the switch circuitry inserts routing information in packets routed from the one or more second real time networks to the first real time network, and wherein the switch circuitry removes routing information from the packets routed from the first real time network to the one or more second real time networks;

wherein the switch circuitry is configured to route packets to distinct queues for the first traffic and the second traffic for processing by an application executing on at least one device and time stamp ingress and egress of packets to/from the first queue pairs and the one or more second queue pairs, wherein said routing of the packets to the distinct queues is performed based on the mapping, wherein the distinct queues comprise first queue pairs associated with first traffic and one or more second queue pairs associated with second traffic, and wherein the application correlates clock synchronization information of the first real time network and one or more second real time networks based on the time stamps.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the switch circuitry further comprises:

one or more functional units, configured to perform said routing packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks, and said routing packets to distinct queues.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein at least one of the one or more functional units is comprised in a network switch.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one other of the one or more functional units is comprised in the at least one device.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein a network node comprises:

the network switch; and

the at least one device.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the network node is configured as a bridge between the first real time network and at least one of the one or more second real time networks.

7. A method for configuring interoperability between a first real time network and one or more second real time networks, wherein the first real time network carries first traffic comprising best effort traffic and first real time traffic, and wherein the one or more second real time networks carry only second real time traffic, the method comprising:

configuring a network switch, comprising a plurality of ports and switch circuitry coupled to the plurality of ports, wherein said configuring comprises:

configuring one or more ports of the plurality of ports to respectively couple to one of the one or more second real time networks, wherein the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks operate according to different protocols; and

configuring at least one port of the plurality of ports to couple to the first real time network; and

configuring the switch circuitry with a mapping that specifies data routing between the plurality of ports; and

configuring the switch circuitry to:

route packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks based on the mapping, thereby maintaining real time behavior between the first real time traffic and the second real time traffic;

insert routing information in packets routed from the one or more second real time networks to the first real time network;

remove routing information from the packets routed from the first real time network to the one or more second real time networks; and

route packets to distinct queues for the first traffic and the second traffic for processing by an application executing on at least one device and time stamp ingress and egress of packets to/from the first queue pairs and the one or more second queue pairs, wherein said routing of the packets to the distinct queues is performed based on the mapping, wherein the distinct queues comprise first queue pairs associated with first traffic and one or more second queue pairs associated with second traffic, and wherein the application correlates clock synchronization information of the first real time network and one or more second real time networks based on the time stamps.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the switch circuitry comprises one or more functional units, configured to perform said routing packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks, said inserting routing information, said removing routing information, and said routing packets to distinct queues.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein a network node comprises the network switch.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

configuring the network node as a bridge between the first real time network and at least one of the one or more second real time networks.

11. A method for interoperating between a first real time network and one or more second real time networks, wherein the first real time network carries first traffic comprising best effort traffic and first real time traffic, and wherein the one or more second real time networks carry only second real time traffic, the method comprising:

routing packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks based on a mapping that specifies said routing, thereby maintaining real time behavior between the first real time traffic and the second real time traffic, wherein the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks operate according to different protocols;

inserting routing information in packets routed from the one or more second real time networks to the first real time network;

removing routing information from the packets routed from the first real time network to the one or more second real time networks; and

routing packets to distinct queues for the first traffic and the second traffic for processing by an application executing on at least one device and time stamp ingress and egress of packets to/from the first queue pairs and the one or more second queue pairs, wherein said routing of the packets to the distinct queues is performed based on the mapping, wherein the distinct queues comprise first queue pairs associated with first traffic and one or more second queue pairs associated with second traffic, and wherein the application correlates clock synchronization information of the first real time network and one or more second real time networks based on the time stamps.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein one or more functional units perform said routing packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks, said inserting routing information, said removing routing information, and said routing packets to distinct queues.

13. A system for interoperating between a first real time network and one or more second real time networks, the system comprising:

a network switch, comprising:

at least one port coupled to the first real time network, wherein the first real time network carries first traffic comprising best effort traffic and first real time traffic; and

one or more ports coupled respectively to the one or more second real time networks, wherein each of the one or more second real time networks carries second traffic comprising only second real time traffic, and wherein the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks operate according to different protocols; and

switch circuitry, coupled to the ports, wherein the switch circuitry is configured with a mapping that specifies data routing between the ports;

wherein the switch circuitry is configured to route packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks based on the mapping, thereby maintaining real time behavior between the first real time traffic and the second real time traffic, wherein the switch circuitry inserts routing information in packets routed from the one or more second real time networks to the first real time network, and wherein the switch circuitry removes routing information from the packets routed from the first real time network to the one or more second real time networks; and

a first device coupled to the switch, wherein an application executes on the first device, wherein the first device comprises at least two first queue pairs for the first traffic and one or more respective second queue pairs for the second traffic for the one or more second real time networks, wherein the first device is configured to time stamp ingress and egress of packets to/from the first queues and the second queues, and wherein the application correlates clock synchronization information of the first real time network and one or more second real time networks based on the time stamps;

wherein the switch circuitry is configured to route packets to one or more queues of the first queue pairs and to one or more queues of the respective second queue pairs for processing by the application executing on the first device based on the mapping.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the switch circuitry further comprises:

one or more functional units, configured to perform said routing packets between the first real time network and the one or more second real time networks, said inserting routing information, said removing routing information, and said routing packets to distinct queues.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein a network node comprises:

the network switch; and

the first device.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the network node is configured as a bridge between the first real time network and at least one of the one or more second real time networks.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the one or more functional units is comprised in a network switch.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein at least one other of the one or more functional units is comprised in the at least one device.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein a network node comprises the network switch and the at least one device.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the network node is configured as a bridge between the first real time network and at least one of the one or more second real time networks.