Methods and apparatus for network congestion control
First Claim
1. A method for controlling congestion at a network switch, the method comprising:
- receiving a frame having a source identifier field corresponding to a source node and a destination identifier field corresponding to a destination node, the frame having been transmitted to the network switch through a first intermediate switch between the network switch and the source node;
characterizing traffic flow at the network switch; and
sending a first instruction from the network switch to the first intermediate switch to control traffic from the source node to the destination node.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for controlling congestion in a network such as a fibre channel network. Techniques are provided for characterizing traffic flow at a congested network node. The congested network node can generate various instructions such as quench messages to control traffic flow towards the congested network node. The quench messages can optionally include information about the characteristics of the congestion. The instructions are distributed to other nodes in the network. The other network nodes can interpret the instructions and control traffic flow towards the congested node.
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Citations
69 Claims
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1. A method for controlling congestion at a network switch, the method comprising:
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receiving a frame having a source identifier field corresponding to a source node and a destination identifier field corresponding to a destination node, the frame having been transmitted to the network switch through a first intermediate switch between the network switch and the source node;
characterizing traffic flow at the network switch; and
sending a first instruction from the network switch to the first intermediate switch to control traffic from the source node to the destination node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for controlling traffic flow between first and second end nodes through first and second intermediate nodes, the method comprising:
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transmitting a first frame having a source identifier corresponding to the first end node and a destination identifier corresponding to the second end node, wherein the frame is transmitted at a first intermediate node to a second intermediate node between the first intermediate node and the second end node;
receiving a second frame from the second intermediate node, the second frame having a source identifier corresponding to the second end node and a destination identifier corresponding to the first end node, wherein the second frame includes instructions to adjust the current allowed rate from the first end node to the second end node; and
adjusting the current allowed rate from the first end node to the second end node upon receiving the second frame. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A switch for controlling the traffic flow between a source node and a destination node, the switch comprising:
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a first port for coupling to a first external node;
a second port for coupling to a second external node;
a first queue associated with the first port for receiving data from the first external node, the first queue including a first portion for holding data for transmission through the first port and a second portion for holding data for transmission through the second port; and
a filter coupled to the first queue, the filter configured to receive data from the first queue and determine whether transmission of the data should be delayed based on information received from the second external node. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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63. An apparatus for controlling congestion, the method comprising:
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means for receiving a frame having a source identifier field corresponding to a source node and a destination identifier field corresponding to a destination node, the frame having been transmitted to the network switch through a first intermediate switch between the network switch and the source node;
means for characterizing traffic flow at the network switch; and
means for sending a first instruction from the network switch to the first intermediate switch to control traffic from the source node to the destination node. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65, 66)
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67. A computer readable medium for controlling congestion, the computer readable medium comprising:
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computer code for receiving a frame having a source identifier field corresponding to a source node and a destination identifier field corresponding to a destination node, the frame having been transmitted to the network switch through a first intermediate switch between the network switch and the source node;
computer code for characterizing traffic flow at the network switch; and
computer code for sending a first instruction from the network switch to the first intermediate switch to control traffic from the source node to the destination node. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69)
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Specification