Method and apparatus for reordering frames
First Claim
1. A communications network for transmitting frames between nodes connected to the network, said network comprising:
- (a) at least one node comprising;
(i) a plurality of ports capable of receiving frames from another node connected to said network substantially simultaneously and transmitting frames to another node connected to said network;
(ii) a frame handler for processing said frames received by said plurality of ports;
(iii) a multiplexer for forwarding a first frame received by a selected one of said ports to said frame handler; and
(iv) a demultiplexer for routing a second frame from said frame handler to at least a selected one of said plurality of ports; and
(b) a plurality of node clients in communication with said least one node, wherein each one of said node clients is associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of ports.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for coupling a plurality of channels of a communications network to a node. The node includes a plurality of ports, each adapted for connection to a corresponding channel and a system interface adapted for connection to a plurality of node clients in the form of host computers, peripheral devices, network interfaces, etc. The node includes a receiver and transmitter dedicated to each port and common circuitry for controlling and processing frames received and/or transmitted by the plurality of ports. A frame prioritization circuit forwards frames received by a selected port to a frame handler for processing and a frame routing circuit routes frames processed by the frame handler to at least one of the ports associated with at least one destination node. The node further includes a frame header buffer associated with each port for temporarily storing the header of each frame received by the respective port prior to forwarding of the header to the frame handler.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A communications network for transmitting frames between nodes connected to the network, said network comprising:
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(a) at least one node comprising; (i) a plurality of ports capable of receiving frames from another node connected to said network substantially simultaneously and transmitting frames to another node connected to said network; (ii) a frame handler for processing said frames received by said plurality of ports; (iii) a multiplexer for forwarding a first frame received by a selected one of said ports to said frame handler; and (iv) a demultiplexer for routing a second frame from said frame handler to at least a selected one of said plurality of ports; and (b) a plurality of node clients in communication with said least one node, wherein each one of said node clients is associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of ports. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A node for use in a communications network having a plurality of channels, said network permitting transmission of frames including a header between said node and another node connected to said network, said node comprising:
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a plurality of ports, each one associated with a respective one of said plurality of channels of said communications network; a plurality of frame header buffers, each one associated with a respective one of said plurality of ports, for storing the header of frames received by said respective port; a multiplexer for selecting a first frame stored in a one of said plurality of frame header buffers to be processed; a frame handler for processing said first frame; and a demultiplexer for routing a second frame designated for transmission to at least a selected one of said plurality of ports for transmission to said other node connected to said network. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for processing frames received by a node of a communications network, comprising the steps of:
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receiving frames at a plurality of ports of said node, said ports being capable of receiving said frames substantially simultaneously with respect to one another; selecting a first frame received by one of said plurality of ports for forwarding said first frame to a frame handler of said node for processing; and routing a second frame designated for transmission to a destination node by said node to at least one of said plurality of ports associated with said destination node. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification