Network control system and method
First Claim
1. In a communication network including a plurality of nodes distributed on a bi-directional bus, a network control system for controlling the reception and transmission of messages at one node of said plurality of nodes, said network control system being coupled between a plurality of application modules and a transmit/receive module which is in turn coupled to said bi-directional bus, each said application module having a unique address and being arranged to originate a message with a destination address and a memory location address, said network control system comprising:
- a buffer pool for storing messages to be transmitted from said one node at memory locations corresponding to said memory location addresses;
a data link stage coupled to said application modules for receiving the memory location address of a message to be transmitted from said one node; and
a timer manager including timing means for timing a time period up to a predetermined time period after said message to be transmitted is transmitted;
said transmit/receive module being coupled to said data link stage for receiving the memory location address of said message to be transmitted, coupled to said buffer pool for obtaining said message to be transmitted for transmitting said message onto said bus, and coupled to said timer manager for starting said timing means responsive to transmitting said message onto said bus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A network control system for use in a communication network controls the receipt and transmission of messages between at least a pair of nodes of the network. Messages conveyed within the network include short messages having a length less than a predetermined number of bytes and long messages having a length greater than the predetermined number of bytes. The network control system is located at least at one of the nodes and includes a connectionless network control portion for controlling the transmission and receipt of the short messages and a connection-oriented network control portion coupled to the connectionless network control portion for establishing a connection with the other node for controlling the transmission and receipt of the long messages between the pair of nodes. The connectionless portion of the system includes a transport stage which provides end-to-end reliability within the system, a network stage for establishing routing of the messages, and a data link stage for providing point-to-point reliability and other control functions such as message flow control, node resynchronization, and node suspension. The connection-oriented portion of the system includes a session stage for handling the communication of long messages greater then the predetermined number of bytes in length.
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Citations
71 Claims
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1. In a communication network including a plurality of nodes distributed on a bi-directional bus, a network control system for controlling the reception and transmission of messages at one node of said plurality of nodes, said network control system being coupled between a plurality of application modules and a transmit/receive module which is in turn coupled to said bi-directional bus, each said application module having a unique address and being arranged to originate a message with a destination address and a memory location address, said network control system comprising:
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a buffer pool for storing messages to be transmitted from said one node at memory locations corresponding to said memory location addresses; a data link stage coupled to said application modules for receiving the memory location address of a message to be transmitted from said one node; and a timer manager including timing means for timing a time period up to a predetermined time period after said message to be transmitted is transmitted;
said transmit/receive module being coupled to said data link stage for receiving the memory location address of said message to be transmitted, coupled to said buffer pool for obtaining said message to be transmitted for transmitting said message onto said bus, and coupled to said timer manager for starting said timing means responsive to transmitting said message onto said bus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. In a communication network including a plurality of nodes distributed on a bi-directional bus, a method for controlling the reception and transmission of messages at one node of said plurality of nodes, said one node including a plurality of application modules and a transmit/receive module which is coupled to said bi-directional bus, each said application module having a unique address and being arranged to originate a message with a destination address and a memory location address, said method comprising the steps of:
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providing a buffer pool; storing messages to be transmitted form said one node in said buffer pool at memory locations corresponding to said memory location addresses; providing a data link stage; conveying to said data link stage form said application modules the memory location address of a message to be transmitted from said one node; providing a timer manager including timing means for timing a time period up to a predetermined time period; conveying from said data link stage to said transmit/receive module the memory location address of said message to be transmitted; causing said transmit/receive module to obtain from said buffer pool said message to be transmitted; causing said transmit/receive module to transmit said message onto said bus; and causing said transmit/receive module to start said timing means responsive to transmitting said message onto said bus. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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Specification