Apparatus, system and method of controlling data flow over a communication network

• US 10,200,515 B2
• Filed: 10/12/2017
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sadeghi, Bahareh, Levy, Elad, Kedem, Oren, Wielicki, Rafal, Dabek, Marek
• Primary Examiner(s): Huynh, Dung B
• Application Number:
  US15/782,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20180034946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 481 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1812 Hybrid protocols; Hybrid automatic repeat request [HARQ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/28 Timers or timing mechanisms used in protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/324 in the data link layer [OSI layer 2], e.g. HDLC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06

Abstract

Some demonstrative embodiments include apparatuses, systems and/or methods of controlling data flow over a communication network. For example, an apparatus may include a communication unit to communicate between first and second devices a transfer response, the transfer response in response to a transfer request, the transfer response including a transfer pending status indicating data is pending to be received at the second device, the communication unit is to communicate the transfer response regardless of whether a retry indicator of the transfer request represents a first request for transfer or a retried request.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a memory; and

a processor configured to cause a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) device of a media-agnostic connectivity PAL to;

process a transfer request from a USB PAL host, the transfer request to initiate transfer of data from a USB endpoint of a USB device to the USB PAL host, the transfer request comprising a request identifier (ID); and

when data receipt from the USB device is delayed, cause to transmit a transfer response with no data payload to the USB PAL host, the transfer response comprising a transfer pending status code to indicate that the data is delayed and pending to be received from the USB device and that the USB PAL host is to reset a retransmission counter and wait an extended retransmission period prior to retransmitting the transfer request, the transfer response comprising a same request ID as the request ID in the transfer request.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a retry bit in the transfer request is set to zero, and the request ID in the transfer request is the same as a request ID in a previous transfer request.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said processor is configured to cause said USB PAL device to transmit the transfer response comprising the transfer pending status code, when a retry bit in the transfer request is set to zero.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause the USB PAL device to, upon receipt of the data in the extended retransmission period, transmit a subsequent transfer response comprising a data payload and an acknowledgement request (ARQ) bit comprising a value to request acknowledgement of the subsequent transfer response.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said processor is configured to cause the USB PAL device to retransmit the subsequent transfer response comprising a retry bit set to a value indicating retransmission of the subsequent transfer response.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to cause the USB PAL device to retransmit the subsequent transfer response, when an acknowledgement is not received from the USB PAL host within a predefined time period from transmission of the subsequent transfer response.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to cause the USB PAL device to repeat retransmitting the subsequent transfer response up to a predefined number of times.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PAL is configured to enable media-agnostic connectivity between a USB host and one or more USB devices.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to control a PAL connection, over the PAL, between the USB PAL host and the USB PAL device, said PAL is above a data link layer.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a Media Access Control (MAC) component and a Physical Layer (PHY) component.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a radio.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a Network interface.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising at least one antenna.

14. A product comprising one or more tangible computer-readable non-transitory storage media comprising computer-executable instructions operable to, when executed by at least one processor, enable the at least one processor to cause a Universal Serial Bus (USB) Protocol Adaptation Layer (PAL) device of a media-agnostic connectivity PAL to:

process a transfer request from a USB PAL host, the transfer request to initiate transfer of data from a USB endpoint of a USB device to the USB PAL host, the transfer request comprising a request identifier (ID); and

when data receipt from the USB device is delayed, cause to transmit a transfer response with no data payload to the USB PAL host, the transfer response comprising a transfer pending status code to indicate that the data is delayed and pending to be received from the USB device and that the USB PAL host is to reset a retransmission counter and wait an extended retransmission period prior to retransmitting the transfer request, the transfer response comprising a same request ID as the request ID in the transfer request.

15. The product of claim 14, wherein a retry bit in the transfer request is set to zero, and the request ID in the transfer request is the same as a request ID in a previous transfer request.

16. The product of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to transmit the transfer response comprising the transfer pending status code, when a retry bit in the transfer request is set to zero.

17. The product of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to, upon receipt of the data in the extended retransmission period, transmit a subsequent transfer response comprising a data payload and an acknowledgement request (ARQ) bit comprising a value to request acknowledgement of the subsequent transfer response.

18. The product of claim 17, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to retransmit the subsequent transfer response comprising a retry bit set to a value indicating retransmission of the subsequent transfer response.

19. The product of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to retransmit the subsequent transfer response, when an acknowledgement is not received from the USB PAL host within a predefined time period from transmission of the subsequent transfer response.

20. The product of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to repeat retransmitting the subsequent transfer response up to a predefined number of times.

21. The product of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the USB PAL device to control a PAL connection, over the PAL, between the USB PAL host and the USB PAL device, said PAL is above a data link layer.