PACKET SCHEDULING IN A NETWORK PROCESSOR
First Claim
1. A circuit for managing transmittal of packets, the circuit comprising:
- a packet descriptor manager (PDM) configured to generate a metapacket from a command signal, the metapacket indicating a size and a destination of a packet to be transmitted by the circuit;
a packet scheduling engine (PSE) configured to model transmission of the packet through a model of a network topology from the destination to the circuit, the PSE determining an order in which to transmit the packet among a plurality of packets based on the model transmission; and
a packet engines and buffering (PEB) module configured to process the packet and cause the processed packet to be transmitted toward the destination according to the order determined by the PSE.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit operates to manage transmittal of packets in a network packet processor. The circuit includes a packet descriptor manager (PDM), a packet scheduling engine (PSE), and a packet engines and buffering module (PEB). The PDM generates a metapacket and a descriptor from a command signal, where the command signal identifies a packet to be transmitted by the circuit. The PSE models the packet through a model of the network topology, determining an order in which to transmit the packet among a number of packets based on the modeling. Once the packet is scheduled for transmission, the PEB performs processing operations on the packet to produce a processed packet based on instructions indicated in the descriptor. The PEB then causes the processed packet to be transmitted toward the destination.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A circuit for managing transmittal of packets, the circuit comprising:
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a packet descriptor manager (PDM) configured to generate a metapacket from a command signal, the metapacket indicating a size and a destination of a packet to be transmitted by the circuit; a packet scheduling engine (PSE) configured to model transmission of the packet through a model of a network topology from the destination to the circuit, the PSE determining an order in which to transmit the packet among a plurality of packets based on the model transmission; and a packet engines and buffering (PEB) module configured to process the packet and cause the processed packet to be transmitted toward the destination according to the order determined by the PSE. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of managing transmittal of packets, the method comprising:
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receiving a command signal identifying a packet to be processed and transmitted; generating a metapacket from the command signal, the metapacket including an indication of a size of the packet and a destination of the packet; modeling transmission of the packet through a model of a network topology from the destination to the circuit; determining an order in which to transmit the packet among a plurality of packets based on the model transmission; processing operations on the packet to produce a processed packet; and causing the processed packet to be transmitted toward the destination according to the order. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification