A multiport
memory architecture, systems including the same and methods for using the same. The architecture generally includes (a) a
memory array; (b) a plurality of ports configured to receive and / or transmit data; and (c) a plurality of port buffers, each of which is configured to transmit the data to and / or receive the data from one or more of the ports, and all of which are configured to (i) transmit the data to the
memory array on a first common
bus and (ii) receive the data from the
memory array on a second common
bus. The systems generally include those that embody one or more of the inventive concepts disclosed herein. The methods generally relate to writing blocks of data to, reading blocks of data from, and / or transferring blocks of data across a memory. The present invention advantageously reduces latency in data communications, particularly in network switches, by tightly
coupling port buffers to the main memory and advantageously using point-to-point communications over long segments of the memory read and write paths, thereby reducing
routing congestion and enabling the
elimination of a FIFO. The invention advantageously shrinks
chip size and provides increased
data transmission rates and
throughput, and in preferred embodiments, reduced resistance and / or
capacitance in the memory read and write busses.