US5245608A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Logical grouping of layer entities in a layered communication architecture
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1990-09-26
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Granted: 1993-09-14
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Expires: 2010-09-26
Abstract
Abstract A method and arrangement for providing a layered communications environment for the routing of information blocks between layers to layer entities forming a logical group based on information block type and the function provided by the individual entities of the group. When an access point (AP) between layers, is first activated, it is given a group classification. As other APs between the layers are activated, they too are given group classifications. All APs between the layers having the same group classification are considered to form a single logical grouping of APs. Each of these APs can be attached to different entities in the adjacent upper layer. This logical grouping allows for information block routing from a lower layer to the adjacent upper layer based on both logical group and block type. The entities in the upper layer that are within one logical group may include separate entities for control and management functions and separate entities for data transport purposes.
Inventors
- 👤 George A. Deaton, Jr.
- 👤 Vicki G. Horton
- 👤 Yves J. Huchet
- 👤 Jeffrey J. Lynch
- 👤 Claude R. Pond
- 👤 II Ralph J. Potok
- 👤 James H. Ragsdale
- 👤 Arthur J. Stagg
- 👤 Robert M. Teague
- 👤 Charles E. Williford
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 01:39
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L9/00; H04L9/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
225 words
In a system arranged for providing communication services by means of a layered communication architecture having a plurality of layers l through m, wherein provider entities in layer n, where n equals 1 through m-1, may be attached to information block routing access points for the routing of blocks to entities in the adjacent upper layer n+1, a method of logically grouping some of the entities in layer n+1 with a provider entity in layer n, comprising the steps of activating a plurality of block routing access points between an entity in layer n and a plurality of entities in layer n+1, assigning a group classification to each access point at the time of activation, wherein each unique group classification forms a logical grouping of layer n+1 entities, and identifying the type of information block that is processed by the layer n+1 entity associated with each access point, upon the receipt of each information block for routing upward in the layered architecture by the layer n entity, determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended and the type of information contained in the block, and routing a block or a message derived from a block to the particular access point associated with a layer n+1 entity that belongs to the identified logical group and which processes the identified block type.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
225 words
In a system arranged for providing communication services by means of a layered communication architecture having a plurality of layers l through m, wherein provider entities in layer n, where n equals 1 through m-1, may be attached to information block routing access points for the routing of blocks to entities in the adjacent upper layer n+1, a method of logically grouping some of the entities in layer n+1 with a provider entity in layer n, comprising the steps of activating a plurality of block routing access points between an entity in layer n and a plurality of entities in layer n+1, assigning a group classification to each access point at the time of activation, wherein each unique group classification forms a logical grouping of layer n+1 entities, and identifying the type of information block that is processed by the layer n+1 entity associated with each access point, upon the receipt of each information block for routing upward in the layered architecture by the layer n entity, determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended and the type of information contained in the block, and routing a block or a message derived from a block to the particular access point associated with a layer n+1 entity that belongs to the identified logical group and which processes the identified block type.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 wherein block types are divided into control blocks and data blocks.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the control blocks include blocks for controlling the setup and teardown of communication connections between this system and remote systems.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the routing step further comprises routing control blocks to a layer n+1 entity that performs control functions and routing data blocks to a layer n+1 that provides data transport functions.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
82 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the activating step further comprises sending a group activate message to each layer n+1 entity that is to be a member of a logical group, in response to the receipt of each group activate message, generating an activate access point message including an identification of the access point and an indication of the function performed by the layer n+1 entity generating the message, and sending the activate access point message to an entity in layer n.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
63 words
The method of claim 5 further comprising in response to the receipt of an activate access point message by the layer n entity, linking the layer n entity to the access point, and sending a confirm message to the layer n+1 entity that generated the activate access point message, thereby linking the layer n and the layer n+1 entities via the access point.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 6 further comprising including the indication of the logical group in each activate access point message.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 78 further comprising creating an access point control block in response to the receipt of each activate access point message by the layer n entity, and including the access point identification, group and layer n+1 entity type sending the activate access point message in the control block.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 8 further comprising determining when all activate access point messages for a group have been received by the layer n entity and linking all control blocks together that belong to the group.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the linking of control blocks further comprises storing the access point identifications of all remaining access points in the group in association with the control block of a selected one of the control blocks.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 10 wherein the selected one of the control blocks is the control block associated with the access point linked to the data block entity in layer n+1.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 11 further comprising generating an activate access point message by the layer n entity, if there is an n-1 layer, and sending the message to an entity in layer n-1 to link the layer n-1 entity with the layer n entity for the routing of information blocks from layer n-1 to layer n.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
116 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the step of determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended further comprises obtaining an access point identification from the block, determining if the entity type in layer n+1 connected to the access point identified from the block matches the block type, and the step of routing further comprises if the block type matches the entity type, routing the block to the access point identified in the block, if the block type does not match the entity type, locating another access point in the logical group whose connected entity in layer n+1 matches the block type and routing the block to the corresponding access point.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
235 words
In a system arranged for providing communication services by means of a layered communication architecture having a plurality of layers l through m, wherein provider entities in layer n, where n equals 1 through m-1, may be attached to information block routing access points for the routing of blocks to entities in the adjacent upper layer n+1, an arrangement for logically grouping some of the entities in layer n+1 with a provider entity inlayer n, comprising means for activating a plurality of block routing access points between an entity in layer n and a plurality of entities in layer n+1, means for assigning a group classification to each access point at the time of activation, wherein each unique group classification forms a logical grouping of layer n+1 entities, and means for identifying the type of information block that is processed by the layer n+1 entity associated with each access point, upon the receipt of each information block for routing upward in the layered architecture by the layer n entity, means for determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended and the type of information contained in the block, and means for routing the block or a message derived from the block to the particular access point associated with a layer n+1 entity that belongs to the identified logical group and which processes the identified block type or the derived message.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
235 words
In a system arranged for providing communication services by means of a layered communication architecture having a plurality of layers l through m, wherein provider entities in layer n, where n equals 1 through m-1, may be attached to information block routing access points for the routing of blocks to entities in the adjacent upper layer n+1, an arrangement for logically grouping some of the entities in layer n+1 with a provider entity inlayer n, comprising means for activating a plurality of block routing access points between an entity in layer n and a plurality of entities in layer n+1, means for assigning a group classification to each access point at the time of activation, wherein each unique group classification forms a logical grouping of layer n+1 entities, and means for identifying the type of information block that is processed by the layer n+1 entity associated with each access point, upon the receipt of each information block for routing upward in the layered architecture by the layer n entity, means for determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended and the type of information contained in the block, and means for routing the block or a message derived from the block to the particular access point associated with a layer n+1 entity that belongs to the identified logical group and which processes the identified block type or the derived message.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
16 words
The arrangement of claim 14 wherein block types are divided into control blocks and data blocks.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
26 words
The arrangement of claim 15 wherein the control blocks includes blocks for controlling the setup and teardown of communication connections between this system and remote systems.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
43 words
The arrangement of claim 15 or 16 wherein the means for routing further comprises means for routing control blocks to a layer n+1 entity that performs control functions and means for routing data blocks to a layer n+1 that provides data transport functions.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
87 words
The arrangement of claim 14 wherein the activating means further comprises means for sending a group activate message to each layer n+1 entity that is to be a member of a logical group, means responsive to the receipt of each group activate message for generating an activate access point message including an identification of the access point and an indication of the function performed by the layer n+1 entity generating the message, and means for sending the activate access point message to an entity in layer n.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
66 words
The arrangement of claim 18 further comprising means responsive to the receipt of an activate access point message by the layer n entity for linking the layer n entity to the access point, and mean for sending a confirm message to the layer n+1 entity that generated the activate access point message, thereby linking the layer n and the layer n+1 entities via the access point.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
22 words
The arrangement of claim 19 further comprising means for including the indication of the logical group in each activate access point message.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
55 words
The arrangement of claim 20 further comprising means for generating an access point control block in response to the receipt of each activate access point message by the layer n entity, and means for including the access point identification, group and layer n+1 entity type sending the activate access point message in the control block.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
40 words
The arrangement of claim 21 further comprising means for determining when all activate access point messages for a group have been received by the layer n entity and means for linking all control blocks together that belong to the group.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
44 words
The arrangement of claim 22 wherein the means for linking the control blocks further comprises means for storing the access point identifications of all remaining access points in the group in association with the control block of a selected one of the control blocks.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
31 words
The arrangement of claim 23 wherein the selected one of the control blocks is the control block associated with the access point linked to the data block entity in layer n+1.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
61 words
The arrangement of claim 24 further comprising means for generating an activate access point message by the layer n entity, if there is an n-1 layer, and means for sending the message to an entity in layer n-1 to link the layer n-1 entity with the layer n entity for the routing of information blocks from layer n-1 to layer n.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
143 words
The arrangement of claim 14 wherein the means for determining from the block the logical group for which the block is intended further comprises means for obtaining an access point identification from the block, means for determining if the entity type in layer n+1 connected to the access point identified from the block matches the block type, and the means for routing further comprises means responsive to the determining means for routing the block to the access point identified in the block if the block type matches the entity type, means activated by the determining means when the block type does not match the entity type for locating another access point in the logical group whose connected entity in layer n+1 matches the block type, and means for routing the block to the corresponding access point corresponding to the located layer n+1 entity.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-09-13 | 1997-03-15 | 1997-09-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-09-13 | 2001-03-15 | 2001-09-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-09-13 | 2005-03-15 | 2005-09-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |