Method and system for optimizing layered communication protocols

• US 6,134,244 A
• Filed: 08/28/1998
• Issued: 10/17/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cornell Research Foundation Incorporated (Cornell University)
• Original Assignee: Mark Hayden, Robert Van Renesse
• Inventors: Hayden, Mark, Van Renesse, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pham, Brenda H.
• Application Number:
  US09/143,620
• Time in Patent Office: 781 Days
• Field of Search: 370/469, 370/462, 370/449, 370/397, 370/465, 709/220, 709/230, 709/100, 709/106, 709/300, 709/228
• US Class Current: 370/469
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/03 Protocol definition or specification protocol conformance testing H04L1/244
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/321 Interlayer communication protocols or service data unit [SDU] definitions; Interfaces between layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

Layering of protocols offers several well-known advantages, such as, for example, reduction of a network design complexity, but, on the other hand, layering introduces overhead which increases delays in communication and typically leads to performance inefficiencies. The present invention provides a number of techniques allowing to model protocol layering and detect where performance inefficiencies occur in the stack of protocol layers. Furthermore, after common execution paths are identified in the protocol stacks, these paths are optimized by using optimization techniques, such as optimizing the computation, compressing protocol headers, and delaying processing. All of the optimizations are automated in a compiler with the help of minor annotations by the protocol designer.

Claims

1. A method of improving performance efficiency in a communication system having a plurality of layered protocols by decreasing actual computation, communication latency and layering overhead, the method comprising the steps of:

determining at least one common execution path in the communication system by identifying a common sequence of operations occurring in the plurality of layered protocols and identifying at least one condition allowing an event to be executed along the common execution path; and

optimizing the speed of execution of the event along the common execution path by extracting the source code corresponding to the condition and the common sequence of operations, eliminating intermediate data structures and inlining functions called from the common sequence of operations.