Quality of service facility in a device for performing IP forwarding and ATM switching
First Claim
1. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
- a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features; and
a housing that contains both said ATM forwarding means and said IP forwarding means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to one embodiment, the invention is directed to a facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node. The facility includes a plurality of logical input ports, a plurality of logical output ports, ATM switching elements, IP routing elements and QoS elements. The switching and forwarding elements transfer ATM data cells and IP data packets from the logical input ports to the logical output ports. The QoS elements prioritize, schedule and flow control the transfer of data, based at least in part on ATM QoS features associated with the ATM data cells and on IP QoS features associated with the IP data packets.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features; and
a housing that contains both said ATM forwarding means and said IP forwarding means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 49)
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15. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features; and
an Application Specific Integrated Circuit that contains at least a portion of said ATM forwarding means, said IP forwarding means, and said QoS elements. - View Dependent Claims (16, 48)
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17. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets, and said input data flows include Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) frames;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features; and
a SONET deframer for deframing said SONET frames in said input data flows.
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18. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path, wherein said ATM forwarding means includes ATM lookup means for identifying toward which of said logical output ports to forward said ATM data cells in said input data flows based on information contained in said ATM data cells;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path; and
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 50)
ATM prioritizing elements for prioritizing transfer of said ATM data cells from said logical input ports to said logical output ports, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features.
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21. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
ATM forwarding means for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
IP forwarding means for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path, wherein said IP forwarding means includes IP lookup means for identifying toward which of said logical output ports to route said IP data packets in said input data flows based on address information contained in said IP data packets; and
QoS elements for identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows, and scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features. - View Dependent Claims (22, 51)
IP prioritizing elements for prioritizing transfer of said IP data packets from said logical input ports to said logical output ports, based at least in part, on the identified one or more IP QoS features.
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24. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources, and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include at least one of a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets; and
a plurality of communication modules, wherein said communication modules include;
IP packet forwarding elements for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports, ATM cell forwarding elements for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports to at least one of said logical output ports, and QoS elements adapted for identifying one or more ATM QoS features associated with the ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features associated with the IP data packets in the input data flows, and providing the identified one or more ATM QoS features and the identified one or more IP QoS features to said input data flows in said communication node, wherein at least some of said QoS elements are distributed in said plurality of communication modules. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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25. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources, and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include at least one of a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
a plurality of communication modules, wherein said communication modules include;
IP packet forwarding elements for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports, ATM cell forwarding elements for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports to at least one of said logical output ports, and QoS elements adapted for identifying one or more ATM QoS features associated with the ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features associated with the IP data packets in the input data flows, and providing the identified one or more ATM QoS features and the identified one or more IP QoS features to said input data flows in said communication node; and
an interconnect in digital communication with said communication modules and adapted for forwarding ATM data cells and IP data packets between said communication modules. - View Dependent Claims (26, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
said communication modules further comprise lookup engines adapted for processing IP data packets and ATM data cells in an input data flow to determine ATM and IP QoS features required by said IP data packets and said ATM data cells in said input data flow, and for generating destination handles representative of said QoS features required by said ATM data cells and said IP data packets, and said interconnect further comprises input data queues for IP data packets and ATM data cells, wherein said interconnect determines which of said input data queues to store particular ones of said IP data packets and said ATM data cells based at least in part on said IP and ATM QoS features indicated by said destination handle. -
42. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 25 wherein ATM data cells and IP data packets transferred from said interconnect to one of said communication modules include an associated status indicating an ability of one or more of others of said communication modules to receive additional ATM data cells and IP data packets.
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43. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 25, wherein said communication modules further include a queuing structure for intermediately storing ATM data cells and IP data packets transferred from said interconnect to said communication modules for output via one or more of said logical output ports.
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44. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 43, wherein said communication modules include one or more physical output ports associated with each of said logical output ports, said queuing structure further comprises a plurality of output queues associated with each of said physical output ports, wherein each plurality of output queues is adapted for intermediately storing ones of said IP data packets and ATM data cells destined for output via said associated physical output port.
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45. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 44, wherein output queues included in a particular plurality of output queues have an assigned priority relative to other output queues included in said particular plurality, wherein data stored in an output queue having a relatively higher priority is scheduled for output in preference to data stored in a queue having a relatively lower priority.
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46. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 44, wherein said queuing structure further includes a calendar queue, wherein said calendar queue is adapted for intermediately storing at least selected ones of said ATM data cells and IP data packets destined for said output queues, and for scheduling transfer of said selected ones of said ATM data cells and IP data packets from said calendar queue to said output queues based at least in part on which of said ATM and IP QoS features apply to said selected ones of said ATM data cells and IP data packets.
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47. A facility for providing ATM and IP QoS features according to claim 45, wherein said queuing structure further comprises an output stack, wherein said output stack is adapted for intermediately storing said ATM data cells and IP data packets destined for transfer from one of said pluralities of output queues, and said facility further comprises a processor for transferring said ATM data cells and IP data packets from said plurality of output queues to said output stack according to a selected priority, wherein said selected priority is based at least in part on from which one of said output queues said data being transferred.
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30. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources, and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include at least one of a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets; and
a plurality of communication modules, wherein said communication modules include;
IP packet forwarding elements for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports, ATM cell forwarding elements for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports to at least one of said logical output ports, QoS elements adapted for identifying one or more ATM QoS features associated with the ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features associated with the IP data packets in the input data flows, and providing the identified one or more ATM QoS features and the identified one or more IP QoS features to said input data flows in said communication node, and lookup engines adapted for processing IP data packets and ATM data cells in an input data flow to determine ATM and IP QoS features required by said IP data packets and said ATM data cells in said input data flow. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40)
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37. A facility for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said facility comprising:
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a plurality of logical input ports adapted for receiving input data flows from external data sources, and a plurality of logical output ports adapted for transmitting output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said input data flows and said output data flows include at least one of a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets; and
a plurality of communication modules, wherein said communication modules include;
IP packet forwarding elements for forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports, ATM cell forwarding elements for forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports to at least one of said logical output ports, QoS elements adapted for identifying one or more ATM QoS features associated with the ATM data cells in the input data flows, identifying one or more IP QoS features associated with the IP data packets in the input data flows, and providing the identified one or more ATM QoS features and the identified one or more IP QoS features to said input data flows in said communication node, and policing elements for detecting if said IP data packets and said ATM data cells in an input data flow exceed a selected QoS feature.
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52. A method for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said method comprising:
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receiving, by a plurality of logical input ports, input data flows from external data sources, wherein said input data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
transmitting, by a plurality of logical output ports, output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
identifying one or more of said logical output ports to which to forward said ATM data cells in said input data flows based on information contained in said ATM data cells;
forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward the identified one or more logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows;
identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows; and
scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features.
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53. A method for providing Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) and Internet Protocol (IP) Quality of Service (QoS) features in a digital communication node, said method comprising:
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receiving, by a plurality of logical input ports, input data flows from external data sources, wherein said input data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
transmitting, by a plurality of logical output ports, output data flows to a plurality of external data destinations, wherein said output data flows include a plurality of ATM data cells and a plurality of IP data packets;
identifying one or more of said logical output ports to which to route said IP data packets in said input data flows based on address information contained in said IP data packets;
forwarding ATM data cells from one of said logical input ports toward at least one of said logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
forwarding IP data packets from one of said logical input ports toward the identified one or more logical output ports along a selected forwarding path;
identifying one or more ATM QoS features for ATM data cells in the input data flows;
identifying one or more IP QoS features for IP data packets in the input data flows; and
scheduling forwarding of said input data flows, based at least in part, on the identified one or more ATM QoS features and on the identified one or more IP QoS features.
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Specification