Apparatus and method for a generalized leaky bucket
First Claim
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1. A leaky bucket apparatus for monitoring the transmission of cells at a node within a communications network, said apparatus comprising:
- token counter for tracking the number of tokens presently available at said leaky bucket apparatus;
controller for controlling access of said cells to said leaky bucket apparatus, wherein a cell is accepted into said leaky bucket for transmission as long as corresponding ones of said tokens are available in said token counter; and
parameter selector for selecting an active parameter set from a group of multiple parameter sets, said group of multiple parameter sets including varying drain rates and token pools sizes to accommodate varying bursts of cells entering said controller, wherein a single one of said parameter sets includes at least a drain rate and token pool size parameter, said parameter selector operable to alter said active parameter set in accordance with predefined trigger conditions input thereto.
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Abstract
A generalized leaky bucket mechanism allowing multiple burst sizes and drain rates. The generalized leaky bucket includes multiple token pool sizes and drain rates, wherein the leaky bucket gradually steps up to larger token pool sizes and steps down as soon as user bursts utilize the increased number of tokens. This allows bursts of various sizes with frequencies which decrease with the burst size. Control of when to step up to higher burst sizes is accomplished through simple trigger conditions which operate to selectively increment the token pool count of the leaky bucket at these times.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A leaky bucket apparatus for monitoring the transmission of cells at a node within a communications network, said apparatus comprising:
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token counter for tracking the number of tokens presently available at said leaky bucket apparatus; controller for controlling access of said cells to said leaky bucket apparatus, wherein a cell is accepted into said leaky bucket for transmission as long as corresponding ones of said tokens are available in said token counter; and parameter selector for selecting an active parameter set from a group of multiple parameter sets, said group of multiple parameter sets including varying drain rates and token pools sizes to accommodate varying bursts of cells entering said controller, wherein a single one of said parameter sets includes at least a drain rate and token pool size parameter, said parameter selector operable to alter said active parameter set in accordance with predefined trigger conditions input thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for monitoring the transmission of cells in a communications network using a leaky bucket mechanism, said leaky bucket mechanism including multiple parameter sets having varying drain rates and token pools sizes to accommodate varying bursts of said cell packets entering said leaky bucket, wherein a single one of said parameter sets includes at least a drain rate and token pool size parameter, said method comprising the steps of:
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observing a token pool count in said leaky bucket mechanism to thereby determine the state of a token pool therein; determining whether a trigger condition exists at a parameter selection means of said leaky bucket; selecting a new set of active parameters from said set of parameter sets if said trigger condition exists, wherein said state of said token pool is altered in accordance with said trigger condition; maintaining the existing set of active parameters if said trigger condition does not exist; and operating said leaky bucket mechanism with a token pool size and drain rate corresponding to the current active parameters for a predetermined time interval τ
, wherein a cell packet is accepted into said leaky bucket for transmission as long as tokens are available in said token count, said step of observing being repeated at the end of said time interval τ
. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification