Integrated circuit and method for exchanging data

• US 20060041888A1
• Filed: 07/04/2003
• Published: 02/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Network System Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Radulescu, Andrei, Goossens, Kees Gerard Willem
• Granted Patent: US 7,366,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9073 Early interruption upon arrival of a fraction of a packet

Abstract

An integrated circuit comprising a plurality of processing modules M, S and a network N; RN arranged for providing at least one connection between a first and at least one second module M, S is provided. Said connection supports transactions comprising outgoing messages from the first module to the second modules and return messages from the second modules to the first module. Said integrated circuit comprises at least one dropping means DM for dropping data exchanged by said first and second module M, S. Accordingly, an alternative scheme for transaction completion is provided, where full and immediate transaction completion is merely applied for certain cases. The invention is based on the idea to allow the dropping of data in certain cases.

Claims

1. Integrated circuit comprising a plurality of processing modules (M, S) and a network (N;

RN) arranged for providing at least one connection between a first and at least one second module (M, S),

wherein said connection supports transactions comprising outgoing messages from the first module to the second modules and return messages from the second modules to the first module, the integrated circuit comprising at least one dropping means (DM) for dropping data exchanged by said first and second module (M, S).

2. Integrated circuit according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one interface means (ANIP, PNIP) for managing the interface between a module (M, S) and the network (N, RN),

wherein said interface means (ANIP, PNIP) comprises a first dropping means (DM) for dropping data.

3. Integrated circuit according to claim 2, wherein

said network (N, RN) comprises a plurality of network routers for forwarding data without dropping data.

4. Integrated circuit according to claim 2 or 3, wherein

said dropping means (DM) are adapted to create an error message if data is dropped.

5. Integrated circuit according to claim 4, wherein

said dropping means (M) are adapted to send said error message to a first dropping means (DM).

6. Integrated circuit according to claim 4, wherein

said dropping means (DM) are adapted to send said error message to said first module (M).

7. Integrated circuit according to claim 5 or 6, wherein

said interface means (ANIP, PNIP) is adapted to store received error messages.

8. Integrated circuit according to claim 7, wherein

an interface means (ANIP) associated to the first module (M) is adapted not to drop error messages.

9. Method for exchanging messages in an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of modules, the messages between the modules being exchanged over connections via a network,

wherein said connection supports transactions comprising outgoing messages from the first module to the second module and return messages from the second module to the first module, wherein data exchanged by said first and second module (M, S) can be dropped.