Proxy-controlled ATM subnetwork
First Claim
1. A subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising:
- at least one end station communicating with at least one switch, said at least one end station and said at least one switch forming an interconnected mesh;
a controller connected to said interconnected mesh;
at least one proxy executing on said controller; and
said proxy determining a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing data to and between said end stations.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ATM subnetwork, suitable for a low-cost home area network, comprises an interconnected mesh of simple ATM switches, end stations and multi-access buses implemented in fully-hardware configurations. Software for signalling and management functions does not reside in these devices, but rather is banished to computers outside the interconnected mesh. Specifically, an external controller acts a proxy for the simple ATM switches and performs all virtual channel connection set-up within the interconnected mesh. Additionally, proxy controllers manage each simple end station and proxy signalling agents permit standard ATM devices to be connected to the simple switches. These proxy processes communicate with the devices within the interconnected mesh via a control protocol of single cell messages delivered over dedicated permanent virtual circuits. The external controller performs a two-phase distributed topology determination algorithm to gain knowledge of the topology of the interconnected mesh sufficient to establish virtual channel connections.
289 Citations
45 Claims
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1. A subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising:
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at least one end station communicating with at least one switch, said at least one end station and said at least one switch forming an interconnected mesh; a controller connected to said interconnected mesh; at least one proxy executing on said controller; and said proxy determining a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing data to and between said end stations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising:
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at least one end station communicating with at least one multi-access bus, said at least one end station and said at least one multi-access bus forming an interconnected mesh; a controller connected to said interconnected mesh; at least one proxy executing on said controller; said proxy determining a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing data to and between said end stations; and said at least one end station and said at least one multi-access bus cooperating with one another to receive commands from said proxy. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for managing communications in a subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising the steps of:
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interconnecting at least one end station and at least one switch to form an interconnected mesh; presenting data to said interconnected mesh at a point of entry to said interconnected mesh; controlling said subnetwork by a proxy connected to said interconnected mesh; and determining by said proxy a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing said data to and between said end stations. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for managing communications in a subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising the steps of:
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interconnecting at least one end station and at least one multi-access bus to form an interconnected mesh; presenting data to said interconnected mesh at a point of entry to said interconnected mesh; controlling said subnetwork by a proxy connected to said interconnected mesh; and determining by said proxy a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing said data to and between said end stations. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for determining a spanning tree of a network, said network having at least one switch, said switch having a plurality of ports, comprising the steps of:
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sending by each switch a plurality of register commands, one register command being sent on each of said plurality of ports; receiving said plurality of register commands by a controller; selecting one of said received register commands; acknowledging said switch identified by said selected register command comprising the step of; sending a acknowledgment message to said switch; including said identified switch in said spanning tree of a said network; and propagating towards said controller by a previously acknowledged switch each register command received by said previously acknowledged switch. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for determining the topology of a network, said network having at least one switch, at least one end station and at least one multi-access bus, comprising the steps of:
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determining a spanning tree of said network; and determining cross-links between said at least one switch, said at least one end station and said at least one multi-access bus within said network. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising:
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at least one end station communicating with at least one switch, said at least one end station and said at least one switch forming an interconnected mesh, with data being presented to said interconnected mesh at a point of entry to said interconnected mesh; a controller external to said subnetwork and connected to said interconnected mesh; at least one proxy executing on said controller; means for determining the topology of said interconnected mesh; and said proxy determining a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing said data to and between said end stations by referencing said topology of said interconnected mesh.
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45. A subnetwork using asynchronous transfer mode comprising:
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at least one end station communicating with at least one switch, said at least one end station and said at least one switch forming an interconnected mesh, with input data being presented to said interconnected mesh at a point of entry to said interconnected mesh; processor means external to said interconnected mesh and connected to said interconnected mesh; means for determining topology of said interconnected mesh; said processor means determining a virtual circuit in said interconnected mesh for routing said data to and between said end stations by referencing said topology of said interconnected mesh; and said processor means appending virtual circuit information to said data prior to routing said data to said interconnected mesh.
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Specification