Bandwidth control apparatus

• US 6,687,225 B1
• Filed: 10/19/1999
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Tomonaga, Hiroshi, Kawarai, Kenichi, Matsuoka, Naoki, Ooba, Yasuhiro, Watanabe, Naotoshi, Hayami, Hichiro
• Primary Examiner(s): HSU, ALPUS
• Application Number:
  US09/421,465
• Time in Patent Office: 1,568 Days
• Field of Search: 370/230, 370/230.1, 370/235, 370/236, 370/236.1, 370/236.2, 370/389, 370/395.1, 370/395.2, 370/395.21, 370/395.4, 370/395.41, 370/465, 370/469, 370/477
• US Class Current: 370/230.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5601 Transfer mode dependent, e.g. ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5602 Bandwidth control in ATM Networks, e.g. leaky bucket
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5625 Operations, administration and maintenance [OAM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5632 Bandwidth allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5651 Priority, marking, classes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/568 Load balancing, smoothing or shaping
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

The invention relates to a bandwidth control apparatus in ATM equipment, for inserting management cells such as OAM cells, the control apparatus being configured to secure a bandwidth for the insertion of a management cell such as an OAM cell when the need arises, while guaranteeing the service quality of user cells, thereby making effective use of network resources for a best effort service such as ABR or UBR. The bandwidth control apparatus comprises a cell insertion block 1-10 for inserting a management cell such as an OAM cell and a shaping block 1-20 for performing user cell shaping, wherein the cell insertion block 1-10 issues an empty cell request when a cell insertion request occurs, the shaping block 1-20, upon receiving the empty cell insertion request, inserts an empty cell in a user cell stream being output from a shaping buffer 1-22, and the cell insertion block 1-10 writes a management cell such as an OAM cell over the empty cell inserted on a cell highway 1-30, thus sending the management cell out on the cell highway 1-30.

Claims

1. A bandwidth control apparatus, comprising:

a buffer for accumulating received user cells;

a shaping means for reading out said user cells within a predetermined bandwidth from said buffer onto a cell highway, and generating an empty cell to be replaced with an insertion cell, in response to an empty cell request,

so that said user cells are read out of said buffer, in such a manner as to allow the empty cell to be inserted between the user cells;

a cell insertion means for accumulating received insertion cells, and overwriting the insertion cell into the empty cell on the cell highway; and

an empty cell requesting means for monitoring the cell insertion means, and sending the empty cell request to the shaping means based on the arrival of an insertion cell.

2. A bandwidth control apparatus, comprising a cell insertion block for inserting a management cell and a shaping block for shaping a user cell, wherein:

said cell insertion block includes means for sending an empty cell insertion request to said shaping block when a cell insertion requests occurs, and means for writing an insertion cell into an empty cell inserted on a cell highway, and

said shaping block includes means for generating said empty cell when said empty cell insertion request is received from said cell insertion block, and for inserting said empty cell on said cell highway, and wherein;

only when a management cell insertion request occurs, is said management cell inserted by allocating a bandwidth thereto.

3. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 2 wherein, when sending said empty cell insertion request, said cell insertion block reports the quality of service class of said insertion cell, and said shaping block inserts said empty cell based on said reported quality of service class.

4. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 2 wherein, when sending said empty cell insertion request, said cell insertion block reports the line identifier of said insertion cell, and said shaping block inserts said empty cell based on said reported line identifier.

5. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 2 wherein, when sending said empty cell insertion request, said cell insertion block reports the connection identifier of said insertion cell, and said shaping block inserts said empty cell based on said reported connection identifier.

6. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 2 wherein, when sending said empty cell insertion request, said cell insertion block transmits information containing all of the quality of service class, line identifier, and connection identifier of said insertion cell, or a combination of two of them, and said shaping block inserts said empty cell based on said transmitted information of said insertion cell.

7. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claims 2 wherein, when sending a request for the insertion of a plurality of empty cells, said cell insertion block transmits the same empty cell insertion request information repeatedly a plurality of times.

8. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claims 2 wherein, when sending a request for the insertion of a plurality of empty cells, said cell insertion block reports the number of repetitions of the same cell insertion request information.

9. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said cell insertion block includes a cell insertion queue, and sends said empty cell insertion request to said shaping block when writing said insertion cell to cell insertion queue.

10. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said cell insertion block includes means for monitoring the queue length of said cell insertion queue, and sends said empty cell insertion request to said shaping block when said queue length has exceeded a predetermined threshold value.

11. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block includes and empty cell counter or an empty cell request queue for holding the number of empty cell requests received from said cell insertion block, said empty cell counter being configured to manage the insertion of empty cells separately from a shaping buffer.

12. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block includes means for writing said empty cell at the head or the tail of a user cell queue in a shaping buffer when said empty cell insertion request is received from said cell insertion block, said shaping block being configured to centrally manage insertion of empty cells and user cells by using said shaping buffer.

13. A bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said shaping block is provided with said empty cell counter for each line identifier.

14. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 11, wherein said shaping block is provided with said empty cell counter for each connection identifier.

15. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 11, wherein said shaping block is provided with said empty cell counter for each quality of service class.

16. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 11, wherein said shaping block is provided with said empty cell counter for each of said line identifier, said connection identifier, and said quality of service class or for each combination of two of them.

17. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block includes means for performing bandwidth control by assuming that a user cell has been read out of a shaping buffer when inserting said empty cell, said shaping block being configured to perform shaping by including an empty cell bandwidth within a user cell bandwidth.

18. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block includes means for performing control so as not to read out a user cell from a shaping buffer when inserting said empty cell but to read out said user cell after the insertion of said empty cells, said shaping block being configured to perform shaping for an empty cell bandwidth and a user cell bandwidth separately from each other.

19. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block assigns one quality of service class to requested empty cells, and inserts said empty cells on said cell highway at a predetermined rate.

20. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 11, wherein said shaping block assigns one quality of service class to requested empty cells, and reads out said empty cells onto said cell highway when user cells of other higher priority quality of service classes are not being read out.

21. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 20, wherein, between said empty cells and user cells assigned a quality of service class that allows said user cells to be read out when cells of other higher priority.

22. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claims 2, wherein said shaping block assigns as the quality of service class of requested empty cells the same quality of service class as one of the quality of service classes assigned to user cells, and reads out said empty cells onto said cell highway.

23. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 22, wherein said shaping block reads out user cells or empty cells in accordance with priority predetermined between said user cells and said empty cells.

24. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 22, wherein said shaping block reads out empty cells and user cells alternately at a predetermined ratio onto said cell highway.

25. A bandwidth control apparatus, according to claim 22, wherein said shaping block assigns said requested empty cells one or more quality of service classes selected from among a plurality of quality of service classes.

26. A bandwidth control apparatus, comprising:

a buffer for accumulating received user packets;

a shaping means for reading out said user packets within a predetermined bandwidth from said buffer onto a packet highway, and generating an empty packet to be replaced with an insertion packet, in response to an empty packet request, so that said user packets are read out of said buffer in such a manner as to allow the empty packet to be inserted between the user packets;

a packet insertion means for accumulating received insertion packets, and overwriting the insertion packet into the empty packet on the packet highway; and

an empty packet requesting means for monitoring the packet insertion means, and sending the empty packet request to the shaping means based on the arrival of an insertion packet.

27. A bandwidth control apparatus, comprising a packet insertion block for inserting a management packet and a shaping block for shaping a user packet, wherein:

said packet insertion block includes means for sending an empty packet insertion request to said shaping block when a packet insertion request occurs, and means for writing an insertion packet into an empty packet inserted on a packet highway, and

said shaping block includes means for generating said empty packet when said empty packet insertion request is received from said packet insertion block, and for inserting said empty packet on said packet highway, and wherein;

only when a management packet insertion request occurs, is said management packet inserted by allocating a bandwidth thereto.