Embodiments of a switch are described. This switch includes input ports
configured to receive signals (which include data) and output ports
configured to output the signals. In addition, the switch includes
switching elements and a flow-control mechanism, which is configured to
provide flow-control information associated with the data to the
switching elements via an optical control path. These switching elements
are configured to selectively couple the input ports to the output ports
based on the flow-control information. Furthermore, a given switching
element in the switching elements is coupled to a given input port and a
given output port via electrical signal paths that are configured to use
proximity communication to communicate the data.