A switching core in accordance with the principles of the present invention connects N input ports to M output ports and provides multi-cast capability. The switching core includes a plurality of selection blocks, each of which receives multiple input bit packs organized in a combination of input data rails and time slots. The switching core selects one of the input bit packs from one of the rails in one of the time slots and conveys the selected bit pack to an output data position within a combination of output data rails and time slots. This operation may take place both in parallel and in sequence.