US6148000A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Merging of data cells at network nodes
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
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Filing: 1997-09-30
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Granted: 2000-11-14
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Expires: 2017-09-30
Abstract
Abstract A switching apparatus (and method and program storage device for storing the method) for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series including a label common to all cells of said series, includes at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port, at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus with an outbound label, a storage device for storing a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of the series is received, and, a device for transmitting each of the series of cells sequentially from the first cell to the last cell from the storage device to a selected outgoing port. Each cell of each series has an outbound label common to all cells of the series, and all cells of each of the series are transmitted before transmitting any cells of other series having the same outbound label.
Inventors
- 👤 Nancy Karen Feldman
- 👤 Arun Viswanathan
- 👤 Richard M. Woundy
- 👤 Richard H. Boivie
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 20:47
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L45/00; H04L45/02; H04L45/04; H04L12/00; H04L12/28; H04L12/46; H04L12/4604; H04L12/4608; H04L12/54; H04L12/56; H04L12/5601; H04L45/10; H04L45/12; H04L45/22; H04L45/24; H04L45/245; H04L45/50; H04L49/00; H04L49/60; H04L49/602; H04L49/606; H04L69/00; H04L69/16; H04L69/161; H04L69/168; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/04; H04Q11/0428; H04Q11/0478; H04L2012/5619; H04L2012/562; H04L2012/5629; H04L2012/563; H04L2012/5638; H04L2012/5665; H04L2012/5667; H04L45/243; H04L49/20; H04L49/201; H04L49/205; H04L49/30; H04L49/3009; Y; Y02; Y02D; Y02D30/00; Y02D30/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 29
Claim 1
Independent Claim
181 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port, b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus with an outbound label, c) a storage device for storing a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of said series is received, and, d) a switching device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and transmitting each said series of cells sequentially from the first cell to the last cell from said storage device to a selected outgoing port, each cell of each series having an outbound label common to all cells of said series, all cells of each said series being transmitted before transmitting any cells of other series having the same outbound label.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
181 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port, b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus with an outbound label, c) a storage device for storing a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of said series is received, and, d) a switching device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and transmitting each said series of cells sequentially from the first cell to the last cell from said storage device to a selected outgoing port, each cell of each series having an outbound label common to all cells of said series, all cells of each said series being transmitted before transmitting any cells of other series having the same outbound label.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
A switching apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein cells of a series are stored in said storage device only while the selected outgoing port is busy transmitting cells of other series with the same outgoing label.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
131 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port; b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus, c) a storage device for storing and reassembling a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of said series is received, and, d) a switch device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and switching said reassembled cells from said storage device to an outgoing port.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
131 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port; b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus, c) a storage device for storing and reassembling a series of cells received at each incoming port until the last cell of said series is received, and, d) a switch device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and switching said reassembled cells from said storage device to an outgoing port.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
152 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port; b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus, c) a switching device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and switching cells to an outgoing port selected according to said label common to all cells of said series, d) a storage device for storing and reassembling a series of cells received at each outgoing port until the last cell of said series is received, and, e) a transmitter for transmitting said reassembled cells from said apparatus on said outgoing port.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
152 words
A switching apparatus for receiving and transmitting data units each segmented into a series of cells of data, including a first cell and a last cell, each cell of a series comprising a label common to all cells of said series, said apparatus comprising: a) at least one incoming port for receiving cells of a plurality of series at each incoming port; b) at least one outgoing port for transmitting cells out of the apparatus, c) a switching device for selectively receiving one or a plurality of said series of cells and switching cells to an outgoing port selected according to said label common to all cells of said series, d) a storage device for storing and reassembling a series of cells received at each outgoing port until the last cell of said series is received, and, e) a transmitter for transmitting said reassembled cells from said apparatus on said outgoing port.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein said data unit comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) packet.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein said data unit comprises an ATM adaptation layer (AAL5) frame.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein said data unit comprises a data-link layer frame or a frame-relay frame.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein said cell comprises a data-link layer frame or a frame-relay frame.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, 2, 3, or 4 wherein said cells are fixed-size Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells or are cells of variable sizes.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of creating a multipoint-to-point switched connection within a network of nodes to switch data units using labels, wherein a node comprises a plurality of incoming ports, at least one outgoing port, and a switching database, said method comprising: a) assigning, by said node, a single outgoing label on an outgoing port for said switched connection, b) assigning, by said node, an incoming label on a plurality of incoming ports for said switched connection, and c) creating, by said node, a mapping in the switching database between each said incoming label and said outgoing label, thereby selectively creating said multipoint-to-point switched connection.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of creating a multipoint-to-point switched connection within a network of nodes to switch data units using labels, wherein a node comprises a plurality of incoming ports, at least one outgoing port, and a switching database, said method comprising: a) assigning, by said node, a single outgoing label on an outgoing port for said switched connection, b) assigning, by said node, an incoming label on a plurality of incoming ports for said switched connection, and c) creating, by said node, a mapping in the switching database between each said incoming label and said outgoing label, thereby selectively creating said multipoint-to-point switched connection.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
A method as set forth in claim 10, wherein said switched connection comprises a concatenation of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Virtual Channels (VCs), said label is comprised of a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual channel Identifier(VCI), and said data unit comprises an ATM cell.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as set forth in claim 10, wherein said switched connection comprises a Frame Relay connection, said label is comprised of a Data-Link control Identifier (DLCI), and said data unit comprises a Frame Relay frame.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
142 words
A method of using a virtual Path (VP) switched connection in a multipoint-to-point connection to switch a series of cells in a network of nodes using a label, wherein said label is comprised of a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI), and wherein each node which is to initiate data on said VP switched connection is assigned a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) unique within said network, said method comprising: a) transmitting, by a node initiating data on said VP switched connection, cells with said unique VCI value and the assigned VPI value for said connection, b) selectively receiving a plurality of cells at at least one incoming port of the switched connection, and c) switching, by each node in said network along said switched connection, cells based solely on said VPI value, and keeping the VCI value unaltered.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
142 words
A method of using a virtual Path (VP) switched connection in a multipoint-to-point connection to switch a series of cells in a network of nodes using a label, wherein said label is comprised of a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI), and wherein each node which is to initiate data on said VP switched connection is assigned a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI) unique within said network, said method comprising: a) transmitting, by a node initiating data on said VP switched connection, cells with said unique VCI value and the assigned VPI value for said connection, b) selectively receiving a plurality of cells at at least one incoming port of the switched connection, and c) switching, by each node in said network along said switched connection, cells based solely on said VPI value, and keeping the VCI value unaltered.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method as set forth in claim 13, wherein the unique VCI identifier is derived from the lower 16 bits of a class B or C Internet Protocol (IP) version 4 address on said node, and wherein all nodes in said network belong to the same class B or C network.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
127 words
A program storage device readable by a computing machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps of a method of creating a multipoint-to-point switched connection within a network of nodes to switch data units using labels, wherein a node comprises a plurality of incoming ports, at least one outgoing port, and a switching database, said method comprising: a) assigning, by said node, a single outgoing label on an outgoing port for said switched connection, b) assigning, by said node, an incoming label on a plurality of incoming ports for said switched connection, and c) creating, by said node, a mapping in the switching database between each said incoming label and said outgoing label, thereby selectively creating said multipoint-to-point switched connection.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
127 words
A program storage device readable by a computing machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps of a method of creating a multipoint-to-point switched connection within a network of nodes to switch data units using labels, wherein a node comprises a plurality of incoming ports, at least one outgoing port, and a switching database, said method comprising: a) assigning, by said node, a single outgoing label on an outgoing port for said switched connection, b) assigning, by said node, an incoming label on a plurality of incoming ports for said switched connection, and c) creating, by said node, a mapping in the switching database between each said incoming label and said outgoing label, thereby selectively creating said multipoint-to-point switched connection.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
47 words
A program storage device as set forth in claim 15, wherein said switched connection comprises a concatenation of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Virtual Channels (VCs), said label comprises a Virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Identifier (VCI), and said data unit comprises an ATM cell.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
36 words
A program storage device as set forth in claim 15, wherein said switched connection comprises a Frame Relay connection said label comprises a Data-Link Control Identifier (DLCI), and said data unit comprises a Frame Relay frame.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
160 words
A program storage device readable by a computing machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps of a method of using a Virtual Path (VP) switched connection in a multipoint-to-point connection to switch a series of cells in a network of nodes using a label, wherein said label comprises a virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Identifier(VCI), and wherein each node which is to initiate data on said VP-switched connection is assigned a virtual channel Identifier (VCI) unique within said network, comprising: a) transmitting, by a node initiating data on said VP switched connection, cells with said unique VCI value and the assigned VPI value for said connection, b) selectively receiving a plurality of cells at at least one incoming port of the switched connection, and c) switching, by each node in said network along said switched connection, cells based solely on said VPI value, and keeping the VCI value unaltered.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
160 words
A program storage device readable by a computing machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps of a method of using a Virtual Path (VP) switched connection in a multipoint-to-point connection to switch a series of cells in a network of nodes using a label, wherein said label comprises a virtual Path Identifier (VPI) and a Virtual Channel Identifier(VCI), and wherein each node which is to initiate data on said VP-switched connection is assigned a virtual channel Identifier (VCI) unique within said network, comprising: a) transmitting, by a node initiating data on said VP switched connection, cells with said unique VCI value and the assigned VPI value for said connection, b) selectively receiving a plurality of cells at at least one incoming port of the switched connection, and c) switching, by each node in said network along said switched connection, cells based solely on said VPI value, and keeping the VCI value unaltered.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
53 words
A program storage device as set forth in claim 18 wherein the unique VCI identifier is derived from the lower 16 bits of a class B or C Internet Protocol (IP) version 4 address on said node, and wherein all nodes in said network belong to the same class B or C network.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
15 words
The switching apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said switching device contains said storage device.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
15 words
The switching apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said switching device contains said storage device.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
15 words
The switching apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said switching device contains said storage device.
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) | 2003-11-14 | 2004-05-15 | 2004-11-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-11-14 | 2008-05-15 | 2008-11-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-11-14 | 2012-05-15 | 2012-11-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |