Patent US6233245B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6233245B1
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Method and apparatus for management of bandwidth in a data communication network
Assignee: F5 Inc
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Filing: 1997-12-24
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Granted: 2001-05-15
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Expires: 2017-12-24
Abstract
Abstract The present invention relates to the field of data communication networks. More specifically, it pertains to devices and methods for the management of bandwidth on links between routing nodes in data networks. The system is particularly useful for reducing congestion caused by high volume traffic streams. The invention provides a novel router that separates traffic on the basis of data type into separate queues buffers. The various queue buffers are associated with virtual output ports on a common physical link. A scheduler regulates the data release from the queue buffers into the physical link to control the bandwidth portion that is made available to each type of data.
Inventors
- 👤 Alan Stanley John Chapman
- 👤 Hsiang-Tsung Kung
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 05:58
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L47/00; H04L47/50; H04L47/52; H04L47/521; H04L47/62; H04L47/6215; H04Q; H04Q3/00; H04Q3/0016; H04Q3/0062; H04Q3/0091; H04L12/00; H04L12/54; H04L12/56; H04L12/5601; H04L2012/5614; H04L2012/5618; H04L2012/5638; H04L2012/5665; H04L2012/5667
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
183 words
A router for use in a communications network, said router suitable for connection to a plurality of physical links, including at least one shared physical link, for transmitting and receiving data traffic units including source address information, said router comprising: first and second input ports for receiving the data traffic units from respective physical links; an output port for connection to the shared physical link; a memory for implementing first and second queue buffers for storing the data traffic units, said first and second queue buffers being associated with the shared physical link; a data type determination unit coupled to said first and second input ports, said data type determination unit operative to dispatch the data traffic units received at said first and second input ports to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; a scheduler for releasing the data traffic units to said output port from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate, for transmission over the shared physical link.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
183 words
A router for use in a communications network, said router suitable for connection to a plurality of physical links, including at least one shared physical link, for transmitting and receiving data traffic units including source address information, said router comprising: first and second input ports for receiving the data traffic units from respective physical links; an output port for connection to the shared physical link; a memory for implementing first and second queue buffers for storing the data traffic units, said first and second queue buffers being associated with the shared physical link; a data type determination unit coupled to said first and second input ports, said data type determination unit operative to dispatch the data traffic units received at said first and second input ports to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; a scheduler for releasing the data traffic units to said output port from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate, for transmission over the shared physical link.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
A router as defined in claim 1 , wherein said certain rate is selected in accordance with a portion of the total bandwidth of the shared physical link allocated to each one of said first and second queue buffers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
A router as defined in claim 2 , wherein each data traffic unit is an IP data packet having a source address.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
41 words
A router as defined in claim 3 , wherein said data type determination unit is operative to process the source address of each IP data packet to determine the queue buffer to which the IP data packet is to be dispatched.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
A router as defined in claim 4 , wherein said data type determination unit includes a data structure holding source addresses, said data type determination unit operative to search said data structure to identify the queue buffer associated with the source address of an IP data packet.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
112 words
A system for controlling the transmission of data traffic units over a shared physical link, each data traffic unit including source address information, said system comprising: first and second queue buffers capable of storing the data traffic units; a data type determination unit operative to receive the data traffic units from a physical link and to dispatch the data traffic units to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; a scheduler for releasing the data traffic units into the shared physical link from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
112 words
A system for controlling the transmission of data traffic units over a shared physical link, each data traffic unit including source address information, said system comprising: first and second queue buffers capable of storing the data traffic units; a data type determination unit operative to receive the data traffic units from a physical link and to dispatch the data traffic units to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; a scheduler for releasing the data traffic units into the shared physical link from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
39 words
A system as defined in claim 6 , wherein said certain rate is selected in accordance with a portion of the total bandwidth of the shared physical link allocated to each one of said first and second queue buffers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
22 words
A system as defined in claim 7 , wherein each data traffic unit is an IP data packet having a source address.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
41 words
A system as defined in claim 8 , wherein said data type determination unit is operative to process the source address of each IP data packet to determine the queue buffer to which the IP data packet is to be dispatched.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
47 words
A system as defined in claim 9 , wherein said data type determination unit includes a data structure storing source addresses, said data type determination unit operative to search said data structure to identify the queue buffer associated with the source address of an IP data packet.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for controlling the transmission of data traffic units over a shared physical link, each data traffic unit including source address information, said method comprising: providing first and second queue buffers capable of storing the data traffic units; receiving the data traffic units from a physical link; dispatching the data traffic units to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; releasing the data traffic units into the shared physical link from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
101 words
A method for controlling the transmission of data traffic units over a shared physical link, each data traffic unit including source address information, said method comprising: providing first and second queue buffers capable of storing the data traffic units; receiving the data traffic units from a physical link; dispatching the data traffic units to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; releasing the data traffic units into the shared physical link from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as defined in claim 11 , wherein said certain rate is selected in accordance with a portion of the total bandwidth of the shared physical link allocated to each one of said first and second queue buffers.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method as defined in claim 12 , wherein each data traffic unit is an IP data packet having a source address.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
36 words
A method as defined in claim 13 , comprising the step of processing the source address of each IP data packet to determine the queue buffer to which the IP data packet is to be dispatched.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as defined in claim 14 , comprising the step of searching a data structure storing source addresses to identify the queue buffer associated with the source address of an IP data packet.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
176 words
A router for use in a communications network, said router suitable for connection to a plurality of physical links, including at least one shared physical link, for transmitting and receiving data traffic units including source address information, said router comprising: first and second inputs for receiving the data traffic units from respective physical links; an output for connection to the shared physical link; storage means implementing first and second queue buffers for storing the data traffic units, said first and second queue buffers being associated with the shared physical link; data type determination means coupled to said first and second inputs, said data type determination means operative to dispatch the data traffic units received at said first and second inputs to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; scheduler means for releasing the data traffic units to said output from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate, for transmission over the shared physical link.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
176 words
A router for use in a communications network, said router suitable for connection to a plurality of physical links, including at least one shared physical link, for transmitting and receiving data traffic units including source address information, said router comprising: first and second inputs for receiving the data traffic units from respective physical links; an output for connection to the shared physical link; storage means implementing first and second queue buffers for storing the data traffic units, said first and second queue buffers being associated with the shared physical link; data type determination means coupled to said first and second inputs, said data type determination means operative to dispatch the data traffic units received at said first and second inputs to a selected one of said first and second queue buffers on a basis of the source address information of the data traffic units; scheduler means for releasing the data traffic units to said output from each one of said first and second queue buffers at a certain rate, for transmission over the shared physical link.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2004-05-14 | 2004-11-13 | 2005-05-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2008-05-14 | 2008-11-13 | 2009-05-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2012-05-14 | 2012-11-13 | 2013-05-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |