Communication buffer scheme optimized for voip, QoS and data networking over a power line

• US 20040001499A1
• Filed: 06/26/2002
• Published: 01/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Atheros Communications Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Williams, William Winston, Earnshaw, William E., Patella, James Philip, Kostoff, Stanley J. II, Gargrave, Timothy Robert
• Granted Patent: US 7,826,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/412
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5408 using protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/54 Systems for transmission via power distribution lines
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/245 using preemption
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 Queue scheduling

Abstract

Media Access Control (MAC) layer transmit and receive buffering with multi-level prioritization. The receive buffering allocates receive buffers for receiving frame data from a PHY interface in priority order using both a static and dynamic buffer allocation, and delivers completed buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to a host interface highest priority first. The transmit buffering delivers completed buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to the PHY interface in priority order. When the multi-level priority queue contains a buffer that is higher priority than one being prepared for transmit, a priority-based interruption causes the transmit processing of the buffer to be suspended at its current state with the higher priority buffer taking its place. Upon completion of the higher priority buffer, the suspended buffer is resumed at its current state.

Claims

1. A method of operating a)Media Access Control (MAC) receiver comprising:

providing a group of receive buffers associated with priority levels at which frame segments are received; and

allocating receive buffers in the group for reception of frame segments based on the priority levels.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

filling the receive buffers with the frame segments based on the priority levels; and

dispatching the filled receive buffers for delivery to a host interface in order of highest to lowest of the priority levels.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

maintaining an empty buffer pool of empty buffers; and

wherein allocating includes moving empty buffers from the empty buffer pool to the receive buffers group for use as receive buffers in the reception of frame segments.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein allocating further comprises:

re-allocating the receive buffers within the receive buffers group in order of highest to lowest of the priority levels when no empty buffer is available in the empty buffer group.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein re-allocating comprises performing a static reallocation to re-allocate an unused buffer from a lower priority to a higher of the priority levels within the receive buffers group.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein re-allocating further comprises performing a dynamic re-allocation that attempts to re-allocate first an unused, and then a used, buffer from a lower to a higher of the priority levels within the receive buffers group at such time as it is determined that a frame segment is to be received.

7. A method of operating a Media Access Control (MAC) transmitter comprising:

delivering completed transmit buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to a PHY interface in priority order.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein delivering comprises:

determining that the multi-level priority queue includes a first transmit buffer that is of a higher priority than a second transmit buffer that being prepared for transmit; and

generating a priority-based interruption to cause the transmit preparation of the first transmit buffer to be suspended;

preparing the first transmit buffer for transmit.

9. A method of operating a MAC transceiver comprising:

dispatching completed receive buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue for delivery to a host interface in priority order; and

delivering completed transmit buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to a PHY interface in priority order.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the priority levels comprise four levels of priority.

11. A computer program residing on a computer-readable medium for operating a transceiver in a network node, the computer program comprising instructions causing a computer to:

dispatch completed receive buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue for delivery to a host interface in priority order; and

deliver completed transmit buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to a PHY interface in priority order.

12. A Media Access Control (MAC) receiver comprising:

a group of receive buffers associated with priority levels at which frame segments are received; and

means for allocating receive buffers in the group for reception of frame segments based on the priority levels.

13. A Media Access Control (MAC) transmitter comprising:

transmit buffers;

means for queuing completed ones of the transmit buffers in a multi-level priority; and

means for delivering the completed ones of the transmit buffers in the multi-level priority queue to a PHY interface in priority order.

14. A Media Access Control (MAC) transceiver comprising:

means for dispatching completed receive buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue for delivery to a host interface in priority order; and

means for delivering completed transmit buffers queued in a multi-level priority queue to a PHY interface in priority order.