Inverse multiplexing within asynchronous transfer mode communication networks
First Claim
1. An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication network, comprising:
- a first communication link;
a plurality of second communication links;
a first ATM switch connected to said first communication link for receiving a stream of ATM cells;
a first application module associated with said first ATM switch for;
associating said stream of ATM cells into a plurality of sub-streams wherein all of said ATM cells associated with a particular sub-stream are associated with a particular user packet; and
transmitting said plurality of sub-streams over said plurality of second communications links wherein all ATM cells associated with particular one of said plurality of sub-streams are transmitted over particular one of said second communications link;
a second ATM switch connected to said plurality of second communication links for receiving said plurality of sub-streams; and
a second application module associated with said second ATM switch for re-assembling said plurality sub-streams into said stream of ATM cells.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Software inverse multiplexing within an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) communication network is provided by a first ATM switch receiving a stream of ATM cells over a high bandwidth communication link. A Segmentation and Re-assembly (SAR) module associated with the first ATM switch thereafter reassembles the received ATM cells into corresponding user packets. Control data identifying the sequence of assembled user packets are added to each user packet and de-assembled into corresponding ATM cells. The de-assembled ATM cells are then communicated over a plurality of low bandwidth communication links to a second ATM switch. The second ATM switch receives the transmitted ATM cells over said low bandwidth communications links. A SAR module associated with the second ATM switch thereafter reassembles the received ATM cells into corresponding user packets. Utilizing the enclosed control data, received user packets are re-synchronized into their original sequence. The control data are then removed and the user packets are de-assembled back into corresponding ATM cells. The de-assembled ATM cells are then communicated over an outgoing high bandwidth communication link.
128 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication network, comprising:
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a first communication link; a plurality of second communication links; a first ATM switch connected to said first communication link for receiving a stream of ATM cells; a first application module associated with said first ATM switch for; associating said stream of ATM cells into a plurality of sub-streams wherein all of said ATM cells associated with a particular sub-stream are associated with a particular user packet; and transmitting said plurality of sub-streams over said plurality of second communications links wherein all ATM cells associated with particular one of said plurality of sub-streams are transmitted over particular one of said second communications link; a second ATM switch connected to said plurality of second communication links for receiving said plurality of sub-streams; and a second application module associated with said second ATM switch for re-assembling said plurality sub-streams into said stream of ATM cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication switch connected to a first communication link for receiving a plurality of ATM cells and to a plurality of second communication links for transmitting said plurality of ATM cells, said ATM communication switch comprising:
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a switching component for receiving said plurality of ATM cells over said first communication link; a segmentation and re-assembly (SAR) module for assembling said plurality of ATM cells into a plurality of user packets; a central processing unit (CPU) for associating particular one of said plurality of user packets with particular one of said plurality of second communication links; and wherein said SAR module further segments said particular one of said plurality of user packets into a plurality of second ATM cells and transmits all of said plurality of second ATM cells over said particular second communication link. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) communication switch connected to a plurality of communication link for receiving a plurality of ATM cells and to a second communication link for transmitting said plurality of ATM cells, said ATM communication switch comprising:
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a switching component for receiving said plurality of ATM cells over said first communication links; a segmentation and re-assembly (SAR) module for assembling said plurality of ATM cells into a plurality of user packets wherein all of said ATM cells assembled into particular one of said user packets are received over particular one of said plurality of first communication links; a central processing unit (CPU) for associating with said SAR module for synchronizing said received plurality of user packets; and wherein said SAR module further de-assembles each of said plurality of user packets into a stream of ATM cells and transmits stream of ATM cells over said second communication link. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for routing a stream of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) cells received over a high bandwidth communication link over a plurality of low bandwidth communication links, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a stream of ATM cells over said high bandwidth communication link; assembling said stream of ATM cells into a plurality of user packets, each of said user packets comprising one or more of said received ATM cells; adding control data to each of said plurality of user packets to generate a plurality of modified user packets, said control data representing the position of said each user packet with respect to the rest of said plurality of user packets; de-assembling each of said plurality of modified user packets into a second stream of ATM cells; and routing said second stream of ATM cells over particular one of said plurality of high bandwidth communication links. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification