Patent US218643A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0805578A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Digital network
Assignee: Marconi Communications Inc
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Filing: 1997-04-30
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2017-04-30
Abstract
Abstract A system and method of generating flow control information for a switching node for a digital network is disclosed. The network includes a source device and a destination device interconnected by the switching node. The source device generates cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to the destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from the source device to the destination device. The source device further periodically generates resource management cells for transmission to the destination device over the path in the downstream direction, and the destination device returns the resource management cells over the path in upstream direction through the switching node to the source device. The switching node includes a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in the downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from the network and buffering the received cells in the buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in the buffer. The resource management cell information generator generates the flow control information for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by the cell transmitter. In generating the flow control information, a maximum allowed rate value is periodically generated in response to a buffer occupancy rate identifying the current portion of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission. The flow control information said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.
Inventors
- 👤 Nol Rananand
- 👤 Jay P. Adams
- 👤 Jon C.R. Bennett
- 👤 Sandeep Shymsukha
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 18:44
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L12/00; H04L12/54; H04L12/56; H04L12/5601; H04L12/5602; H04L49/00; H04L49/10; H04L49/104; H04L49/105; H04L49/107; H04L49/30; H04L49/3081; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/04; H04Q11/0428; H04Q11/0478; H04L2012/5619; H04L2012/5629; H04L2012/5631; H04L2012/5632; H04L2012/5635; H04L2012/5636; H04L2012/5678; H04L2012/5681; H04L2012/5682
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
285 words
A resource management cell information generator for use in connection with a switching node for a digital network, the network including a source device and a destination device interconnected by said switching node, the source device generating cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to said destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from said source device to said destination device, the source device further periodically generating resource management cells for transmission to said destination device over said path in said downstream direction, the destination device returning said resource management cells over said path in upstream direction through said switching node to said source device, the switching node including a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in said downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from said network and buffering the received cells in said buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in said buffer, The a resource management cell information generator generating said flow control information for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by said cell transmitter, the resource management cell information generator including: A. a periodic statistic generator for periodically updating a maximum allowed rate value in response to a buffer occupancy rate of change identifying the current occupancy of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission; and B. flow control rate generator for generating said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control rate generator generating the flow control information in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
285 words
A resource management cell information generator for use in connection with a switching node for a digital network, the network including a source device and a destination device interconnected by said switching node, the source device generating cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to said destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from said source device to said destination device, the source device further periodically generating resource management cells for transmission to said destination device over said path in said downstream direction, the destination device returning said resource management cells over said path in upstream direction through said switching node to said source device, the switching node including a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in said downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from said network and buffering the received cells in said buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in said buffer, The a resource management cell information generator generating said flow control information for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by said cell transmitter, the resource management cell information generator including: A. a periodic statistic generator for periodically updating a maximum allowed rate value in response to a buffer occupancy rate of change identifying the current occupancy of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission; and B. flow control rate generator for generating said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control rate generator generating the flow control information in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 1 in which said buffer is divided into a plurality of cell occupancy regions, each associated with one of a plurality of operational modes, the periodic statistic generator updating said maximum allowed rate value in relation to the operational mode associated with the buffer's cell occupancy region when the maximum allowed rate value is updated.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
58 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which one operational mode is a constant increase mode, the flow control rate generator updating the maximum allowed rate value as a previous maximum allowed rate value plus a predetermined increment rate value if the buffer's cell occupancy region is associated with said constant increase mode.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 3 in which one cell occupancy region is a sparsely occupied region, in which the buffer is sparsely occupied, the constant increase mode being associated with said sparsely-occupied region.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 3 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a selected target rate value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 3 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a minimum cell rate value identified in a resource management cell.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which one operational mode is a default increase mode, the flow control rate generator updating the maximum allowed rate value in relation to a previous maximum allowed rate value and an adjustment factor determined in relation to a rate of change of the buffer occupancy.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
35 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which one cell occupancy region is a low intermediate occupied region, the default increase mode being associated with said low intermediate occupied region.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
68 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator updates the maximum allowed rate in relation to a scale factor and the buffer occupancy rate of change value if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is negative.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
62 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator updates the maximum allowed rate in relation to a default increase value if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is slightly positive.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
57 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator does not update the maximum allowed rate if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is significantly positive.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
32 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a selected target rate value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 7 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a minimum cell rate value identified in a resource management cell.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which one operational mode is a normal mode, the periodic statistic generator updating the maximum allowed rate value in relation to a previous maximum allowed rate value and an adjustment factor determined in relation to a rate of change of the buffer occupancy.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 14 in which one cell occupancy region is an intermediate occupied region, the default increase mode being associated with said intermediate occupied region.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
68 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 14 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator updates the maximum allowed rate in relation to a scale factor and the buffer occupancy rate of change value if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is negative.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
56 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 14 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator does not update the maximum allowed rate if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is positive.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
57 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which one operational mode is a default decrease mode, the flow control rate generator updating the maximum allowed rate value in relation to a previous maximum allowed rate value and an adjustment factor determined in relation to a rate of change of the buffer occupancy.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
33 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which one cell occupancy region is a densely occupied region, the default decrease mode being associated with said densely occupied region.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
68 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator updates the maximum allowed rate in relation to a scale factor and the buffer occupancy rate of change value if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is positive.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
62 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator updates the maximum allowed rate in relation to a default decrease value if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is slightly negative.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
57 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which the periodic statistic generator generates a buffer occupancy rate of change value identifying the rate of change of buffer occupancy and the flow control rate generator does not update the maximum allowed rate if the buffer occupancy rate of change value is significantly negative.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
32 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a selected target rate value.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 18 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a minimum cell rate value identified in a resource management cell.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
56 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which one operational mode is a constant decrease mode, the periodic statistic generator updating the maximum allowed rate value as a previous maximum allowed rate value, times a predetermined decrement factor if the buffer's cell occupancy region is associated with said constant decrease mode.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
39 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 25 in which one cell occupancy region is a densely occupied region, in which the buffer is densely occupied, the constant decrease mode being associated with said densely-occupied region.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
32 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 26 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a selected target rate value.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
38 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 26 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate in relation to a minimum cell rate value identified in a resource management cell.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
66 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2 in which the periodic statistic generator further updates the maximum allowed rate value in response to a resource management cell counter which is incremented when the switching node receives a resource management cell in the downstream direction, the periodic statistic generator decrementing the resource management cell counter when it updates the maximum allowed rate value.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
45 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 29 in which the periodic statistic generator does not update the maximum allowed rate value if the resource management cell counter identifies a value which is less than a predetermined resource management cell count value.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
62 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 2, the periodic statistic generator further including a resource management cell counter which is incremented when the switching node receives a resource management cell in the downstream direction, the periodic statistic generator resetting said resource management cell counter if the buffer is operating in a region associated with a selected operating mode.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
34 words
A resource management cell information generator as defined in claim 31 in which said flow control rate generator further updates said maximum allowed rate so as not to exceed a selected target rate value.
Claim 34
Independent Claim
269 words
A method of generating flow control information for use in connection with a switching node for a digital network, the network including a source device and a destination device interconnected by said switching node, the source device generating cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to said destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from said source device to said destination device, the source device further periodically generating resource management cells for transmission to said destination device over said path in said downstream direction, the destination device returning said resource management cells over said path in upstream direction through said switching node to said source device, the switching node including a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in said downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from said network and buffering the received cells in said buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by said cell transmitter, the flow control information being generated according to the steps of: A. periodically updating a maximum allowed rate value in response to a buffer occupancy rate identifying the current portion of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission; and B. for generating said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
269 words
A method of generating flow control information for use in connection with a switching node for a digital network, the network including a source device and a destination device interconnected by said switching node, the source device generating cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to said destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from said source device to said destination device, the source device further periodically generating resource management cells for transmission to said destination device over said path in said downstream direction, the destination device returning said resource management cells over said path in upstream direction through said switching node to said source device, the switching node including a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in said downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from said network and buffering the received cells in said buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by said cell transmitter, the flow control information being generated according to the steps of: A. periodically updating a maximum allowed rate value in response to a buffer occupancy rate identifying the current portion of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission; and B. for generating said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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