ATM adaption layer traffic scheduling
First Claim
1. Apparatus for transmitting messages associated with a plurality of connections, said apparatus comprising:
- transmission equipment for receiving, segmenting and multiplexing multiple messages, receiving each of said multiple messages into one or more data units, multiplexing said data units from various connections into a single stream for transport over a physical interface at an output transmission rate, said transmission equipment comprising a segmentation means for segmenting each of said multiple messages into said data units and a multiplexer means for multiplexing said data units into said single stream;
bandwidth allocation means associated with said transmission equipment for dynamically allocating a portion of said output transmission rate to one of said various connections;
a scheduler, connected to said bandwidth allocation means, for scheduling transfer of said multiple messages to said single stream and for allocating a substantially maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate to each of said various connections substantially when its message is transferred to said transmission equipment in order to minimize interleaving of said data units from said various connections, said scheduler transferring messages to said single stream by one of (a) receiving said multiple messages directly from said various connections and transferring said multiple messages to said segmentation means which substantially immediately transfers said multiple messages to said multiplexing means,and (b) receiving said data units from said segmentation means and transferring groups of said data units to said multiplexing means, each of said groups corresponding to a message of said multiple messages, said scheduler being enabled to set a transmission rate for each of said various connections whose message is being transmitted to said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate when transmitting said message, said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate for a given connection at a given time being the lesser of (i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said given connection and (ii) all unused bandwidth at said given time allocated to a service class to which said given connection belongs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The ATM transmitting apparatus for transmitting messages, such as frame relay packets, associated with a plurality of connections comprises ATM layer transmission equipment for receiving multiple messages, segmenting each received message into a plurality of smaller data units, such as 48 byte AAL SAR protocol data units, and multiplexing such data units into a single stream for transport over a physical interface. A scheduler receives messages from each of the connections and transfers the messages to the transmission equipment. The scheduler can dynamically set a transmission rate for any connection, and allocates each connection whose message is transferred to the transmission equipment a substantially maximal amount of bandwidth at any given time during the transmission of the message, to thereby minimize interleaving of data units from the various connections and reduce the average latency (per unit of message) in transmitting the messages across a network.
35 Citations
62 Claims
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1. Apparatus for transmitting messages associated with a plurality of connections, said apparatus comprising:
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transmission equipment for receiving, segmenting and multiplexing multiple messages, receiving each of said multiple messages into one or more data units, multiplexing said data units from various connections into a single stream for transport over a physical interface at an output transmission rate, said transmission equipment comprising a segmentation means for segmenting each of said multiple messages into said data units and a multiplexer means for multiplexing said data units into said single stream;
bandwidth allocation means associated with said transmission equipment for dynamically allocating a portion of said output transmission rate to one of said various connections;
a scheduler, connected to said bandwidth allocation means, for scheduling transfer of said multiple messages to said single stream and for allocating a substantially maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate to each of said various connections substantially when its message is transferred to said transmission equipment in order to minimize interleaving of said data units from said various connections, said scheduler transferring messages to said single stream by one of (a) receiving said multiple messages directly from said various connections and transferring said multiple messages to said segmentation means which substantially immediately transfers said multiple messages to said multiplexing means,and (b) receiving said data units from said segmentation means and transferring groups of said data units to said multiplexing means, each of said groups corresponding to a message of said multiple messages, said scheduler being enabled to set a transmission rate for each of said various connections whose message is being transmitted to said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate when transmitting said message, said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate for a given connection at a given time being the lesser of (i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said given connection and (ii) all unused bandwidth at said given time allocated to a service class to which said given connection belongs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A data transmission method for transporting multiple messages associated with multiple connections over a network, said method comprising steps of:
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segmenting each message of said multiple messages of each connection of said multiple connections into transportable data units;
scheduling transfer of said multiple messages from said multiple connections to a multiplexing step, said scheduling comprising one of;
(i) scheduling the transfer of groups of said data units from said segmenting step to said multiplexing step, each group of said groups of said data units corresponding to a message of said multiple messages, and (ii) scheduling the transfer of said multiple messages from said multiple connections to said segmenting step, said segmenting step substantially immediately transferring said data units to said multiplexing step;
multiplexing said data units from said multiple connections into a single stream for transport over a transmission media to a destination;
assigning a maximum permissible amount of transmission bandwidth to each connection of said multiple connections when a message thereat substantially begins to be transported over said transmission media, thereby minimizing interleaving of said data units from said multiple connections over said transmission media; and
setting said bandwidth to said maximum permissible amount during transmission of said message, said maximum permissible bandwidth for a given connection at a given time being the lesser of;
(i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said given connection; and
(ii) a rate using all unused bandwidth at said given time allocated to a service class to which said given connection belongs. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. Apparatus for transmitting ATM adaption layer (AAL) service data units (SDUs) associated with a plurality of connections, said apparatus comprising:
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segmentation means for segmenting each AAL SDU into one or more AAL segmentation and reassembly protocol data units (SAR PDUs);
ATM layer means for multiplexing said SAR PDUs of various connections of said plurality of connections into a single stream having an output transmission rate;
physical transmission means, connected to said ATM layer means, for transporting said single stream of said SAR PDUs over a physical interface;
bandwidth allocation means for dynamically allocating a portion of said output transmission rate to any connection of said plurality of connections; and
a scheduler, connected to said bandwidth allocation means, for scheduling transfer of said SDUs to said ATM layer means, and for allocating a substantially maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate to each connection of said various connections substantially at the time its SDU is submitted to said ATM layer means in order to minimize interleaving of said SAR PDUs in said single stream, said scheduler transferring said SDUs to said ATM layer means by one of (a) receiving said SDUs from AAL users and transferring said SDUs to said segmentation means, said segmentation means substantially immediately transferring said SAR PDUs to said ATM layer means; and
(b) transferring groups of said SAR PDUs to said ATM layer means, each group of said groups corresponding to an SDU, said scheduler being enabled to set a transmission rate for a connection to a maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate during the time an SDU of said SDUs associated with said connection is being transmitted over said physical interface, said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate for a given connection of said various connections at any time being the lesser of (i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said given connection and (ii) a total amount of free bandwidth at that time for a service class associated with said given connection.- View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. Apparatus for transmitting ATM adaption layer (AAL) service data units (SDUs) associated with a plurality of connections, said apparatus comprising:
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segmentation means, for segmenting each SDU of said SDUs into one or more AAL segmentation and reassembly protocol data units (SAR PDUs);
ATM layer means, for multiplexing said SAR PDUs into a single stream having an output transmission rate;
physical transmission means, connected to said ATM layer means, for transporting said single stream of SAR PDUs over a physical interface;
bandwidth allocation means, for dynamically allocating a portion of said output transmission rate to any connection of said plurality of connections; and
scheduling means, connected to said bandwidth allocation means, for scheduling transfer of said SDUs to said ATM layer means, and for allocating a maximal portion of said output transmission rate to a connection of said plurality of connections while an SDU associated with said connection is being transmitted by said ATM layer means, said scheduling means transferring messages relating to said SDUs to said ATM layer means by one of (a) receiving said SDUs directly from AAL users and transferring said SDUs to said segmentation means which substantially immediately transfers said messages to the said ATM layer means, and (b) receiving said SAR PDUs from said segmentation means and transferring groups of said SAR PDUs to said ATM layer means, wherein each group of said groups of said SAR PDUs corresponds to a particular SDU, said maximal portion of said output transmission rate for a given connection of said plurality of connections at any given time being the lesser of (i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said given connection and (ii) all unused bandwidth at a given time allocated to a service class to which said given connection belongs. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. Apparatus for transmitting messages associated with a plurality of connections, said apparatus comprising:
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transmission equipment for receiving said messages, segmenting each received message of said messages into one or more data units, and multiplexing said data units from said plurality of connections into a single stream for transport over a physical interface at an output transmission rate;
a bandwidth allocation arrangement associated with said transmission equipment adapted to dynamically allocate a portion of said output transmission rate to one connection of said plurality of connections; and
a scheduler, connected to said bandwidth allocation arrangement, adapted to schedule transfer of said messages to said single stream of said transmission equipment and to allocate a substantially maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate to a given connection of said plurality of connections when a request for service for said given connection exists and said given connection is not being serviced, said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate for said connection at any given time being the lesser of (i) a pre-specified peak transmission rate for said connection and (ii) substantially all available unused bandwidth at the given time allocated to a service class to which said connection belongs. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
said transmission equipment comprises a segmentation arrangement adapted to segmenting each message of said messages into said data units; - and
and a multiplexing arrangement adapted to multiplex said each message into said single stream; and
said scheduler transfers said messages to said single stream by one of;
(a) receiving said messages from said connections and transferring said messages to said segmentation arrangement which substantially immediately transfers said messages to said multiplexing arrangement; and
(b) receiving said data units from said segmentation arrangement and transferring groups of said units to the said multiplexing arrangement, wherein each said group of said groups corresponds to one message of said messages.
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59. The apparatus according to claim 58, wherein said scheduler is enabled to additionally set a transmission rate for each connection of said plurality of connections whose message is being transmitted to said maximum permissible portion of said output transmission rate.
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60. The apparatus according to claim 59, wherein upon completion of transmission of one message of said messages, said scheduler is enabled to increase the transmission rate of any connection of said connections having its message being transmitted by said transmission equipment if bandwidth is available for said any connection.
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61. The apparatus according to claim 60, wherein upon reception of a given message associated with a given connection, said scheduler is enabled to queue said given message in a queue of messages pending transmission in the event no free bandwidth is available for said given connection or in the event that said given connection has a previous message being transmitted by said transmission equipment.
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62. The apparatus according to claim 61, wherein said scheduler is enabled to process a queued message in said queue of messages pending transmission as a just-received message when transmission of a currently transmitted message of said messages is completed.
Specification