Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
151 words
A method comprising: receiving a forward resource management control cell in a network switch; forwarding the forward resource management control cell to a destination node; determining, after said forwarding, rate-based, flow-control data in the network switch, in response to receipt of the forward resource management control cell corresponding to a connection linking a source node and the destination node via the network switch; storing the rate-based, flow-control data in the network switch before receipt of a backward resource management control cell in the network switch; receiving in the network switch, from the destination node, the backward resource management control cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell; and modifying in the network switch the backward resource management control cell, before forwarding the backward resource management control cell to the source node, based on the rate-based, flow-control data determined in response to the receipt of the forward resource management control cell.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
151 words
A method comprising: receiving a forward resource management control cell in a network switch; forwarding the forward resource management control cell to a destination node; determining, after said forwarding, rate-based, flow-control data in the network switch, in response to receipt of the forward resource management control cell corresponding to a connection linking a source node and the destination node via the network switch; storing the rate-based, flow-control data in the network switch before receipt of a backward resource management control cell in the network switch; receiving in the network switch, from the destination node, the backward resource management control cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell; and modifying in the network switch the backward resource management control cell, before forwarding the backward resource management control cell to the source node, based on the rate-based, flow-control data determined in response to the receipt of the forward resource management control cell.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the forward resource management control cell comprises an asynchronous transfer mode forward resource management control cell and the backward resource management control cell comprises an asynchronous transfer mode backward resource management control cell.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: retrieving the rate-based, flow-control data from a database using virtual channel data associated with the backward resource management control cell.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: placing a management event record corresponding to the forward resource management control cell in a queue; removing the management event record from the queue; and processing the management event record using a rate control algorithm to produce the rate-based, flow-control data.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein the management event record comprises virtual channel identification data corresponding to the forward resource management control cell, and said forwarding the forward resource management control cell occurs before said removing the management event record from the queue.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein processing the management event record comprises processing the management event record using explicit rate indication for congestion avoidance in ATM networks (ERICA) algorithm.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
38 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the rate-based, flow-control data comprises explicit rate parameter data, and modifying the backward resource management control cell comprises inserting the explicit rate parameter data in the backward resource management control cell.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the rate-based, flow-control data comprises a congestion indicator, and modifying the backward resource management control cell comprises setting a congestion indicator bit in the backward resource management control cell in accordance with the congestion indicator.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
242 words
A data transmission apparatus comprising: source port circuitry operative to send and receive control cells on a source virtual channel; destination port circuitry operative to send and receive control cells over a destination virtual channel; switching circuitry operatively coupling the source port circuitry and the destination port circuitry, the switching circuitry comprising circuitry to exchange data cells and control cells between the source virtual channel and the destination virtual channel; management event circuitry operatively coupled to the source port circuitry to receive control cells from the source virtual channel and to compute rate-based, flow-control data in response to receipt of a forward resource management control cell that corresponds to a connection linking a source node and a destination node via the data transmission apparatus, wherein the computation of the rate-based, flow-control data occurs after forwarding of the forward resource management control cell and the computed rate-based, flow-control data is stored before receipt of a backward resource management control cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell; and return cell circuitry operatively coupled to the source and destination port circuitry and to the management event circuitry, the return cell circuitry comprising circuitry to receive control cells from the destination port circuitry, to modify a backward resource management control cell based on the rate-based, flow-control data computed by the management event circuitry, and to provide the modified backward resource management control cell to the source port circuitry for transmission over source virtual channels.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
242 words
A data transmission apparatus comprising: source port circuitry operative to send and receive control cells on a source virtual channel; destination port circuitry operative to send and receive control cells over a destination virtual channel; switching circuitry operatively coupling the source port circuitry and the destination port circuitry, the switching circuitry comprising circuitry to exchange data cells and control cells between the source virtual channel and the destination virtual channel; management event circuitry operatively coupled to the source port circuitry to receive control cells from the source virtual channel and to compute rate-based, flow-control data in response to receipt of a forward resource management control cell that corresponds to a connection linking a source node and a destination node via the data transmission apparatus, wherein the computation of the rate-based, flow-control data occurs after forwarding of the forward resource management control cell and the computed rate-based, flow-control data is stored before receipt of a backward resource management control cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell; and return cell circuitry operatively coupled to the source and destination port circuitry and to the management event circuitry, the return cell circuitry comprising circuitry to receive control cells from the destination port circuitry, to modify a backward resource management control cell based on the rate-based, flow-control data computed by the management event circuitry, and to provide the modified backward resource management control cell to the source port circuitry for transmission over source virtual channels.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the management event circuitry comprises a processor connected to a memory, the memory comprising stored instructions to configure the processor to compute and store resource management data.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions to configure the processor comprise instructions to associate rate-based, flow-control data with source virtual channels.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the management event circuitry and the return cell circuitry comprise a shared processor coupled to memory circuitry.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
25 words
The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the source port circuitry and the destination port circuitry comprise shared transmission circuitry coupled to a physical link.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein data cells and control cells are fixed-sized asynchronous transfer mode cells.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
117 words
A network switch comprising: means for sending and receiving control cells and data cells over a connection linking a source node and a destination node via the network switch; means for initiating preparation of rate-based, flow-control data in response to receipt of a forward resource management cell from the source node and before receipt of a backward resource management cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell, wherein preparation of the rate-based, flow-control data occurs after forwarding of the forward resource management cell and the prepared rate-based, flow-control data is stored before receipt of the backward resource management cell; and means for modifying the backward resource management cell upon receipt using the prepared resource management data.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
117 words
A network switch comprising: means for sending and receiving control cells and data cells over a connection linking a source node and a destination node via the network switch; means for initiating preparation of rate-based, flow-control data in response to receipt of a forward resource management cell from the source node and before receipt of a backward resource management cell corresponding to the forward resource management control cell, wherein preparation of the rate-based, flow-control data occurs after forwarding of the forward resource management cell and the prepared rate-based, flow-control data is stored before receipt of the backward resource management cell; and means for modifying the backward resource management cell upon receipt using the prepared resource management data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
47 words
The network switch of claim 15 , wherein the means for initiating preparation of resource management data comprises: means for generating forward resource management (FRM) events from FRM cells in response to receipt of the FRM cells; and means for storing the FRM events for later processing.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
The network switch of claim 16 , wherein the means for generating the FRM events comprises means for extracting virtual channel data from the FRM cells, and the means for storing the FRM events comprises a queue.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
55 words
The network switch of claim 16 , wherein the means for modifying the backward resource management cell comprises; means for storing resource management data prepared using the FRM events; and means for comparing received backward resource management (BRM) cells with the stored resource management data to determine whether to modify the BRM cells before forwarding.