Resilient retransmission of epoch data
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A packet switch comprising:
- a switch fabric having multiple input and output data ports;
a plurality of ingress port pipes connected to provide input data to corresponding switch fabric input data ports;
a plurality of egress port pipes connected to receive output data from corresponding switch fabric output data ports;
a first ingress unit connected to provide input data to at least one of the ingress port pipes, the ingress unit transmitting epoch-formatted first packet data on the connected ingress port pipe during a first epoch and temporarily retaining the first packet data in memory beyond the end of the first epoch, the ingress unit comprising retransmission logic capable of initiating a retransmission of the retained first packet data during at least a second epoch; and
a first egress unit connected to receive output data from at least one of the egress port pipes, the egress unit receiving the epoch-formatted first packet data on the connected egress port pipe, the egress unit comprising a data integrity unit to check the epoch-formatted first packet data for errors, andretransmission logic, comprising a retransmit monitor to track the error performance for epoch data received by the egress unit, capable of generating an error signal to another component of the packet switch when the epoch-formatted first packet data is received with an error and disabling error signal generation when the error performance does not meet an error criteria.
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Abstract
Apparatus and methods for epoch retransmission in a packet network device are described. In at least one embodiment, epoch receivers check received epoch data for errors. When an error is detected, a receiver is allowed to request that the entire epoch be retransmitted. All epoch senders retain transmitted epoch data until the time for requesting a retransmission of that data is past. If retransmission is requested by any receiver, the epoch is “replayed.” This approach mitigates the problem of dropping multiple packets (bundled in a large epoch) due to an intraswitch error with the epoch. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.
22 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A packet switch comprising:
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a switch fabric having multiple input and output data ports; a plurality of ingress port pipes connected to provide input data to corresponding switch fabric input data ports; a plurality of egress port pipes connected to receive output data from corresponding switch fabric output data ports; a first ingress unit connected to provide input data to at least one of the ingress port pipes, the ingress unit transmitting epoch-formatted first packet data on the connected ingress port pipe during a first epoch and temporarily retaining the first packet data in memory beyond the end of the first epoch, the ingress unit comprising retransmission logic capable of initiating a retransmission of the retained first packet data during at least a second epoch; and a first egress unit connected to receive output data from at least one of the egress port pipes, the egress unit receiving the epoch-formatted first packet data on the connected egress port pipe, the egress unit comprising a data integrity unit to check the epoch-formatted first packet data for errors, and retransmission logic, comprising a retransmit monitor to track the error performance for epoch data received by the egress unit, capable of generating an error signal to another component of the packet switch when the epoch-formatted first packet data is received with an error and disabling error signal generation when the error performance does not meet an error criteria. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A packet switch comprising:
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a switch fabric having multiple input and output data ports; a plurality of ingress port pipes connected to provide input data to corresponding switch fabric input data ports; a plurality of egress port pipes connected to receive output data from corresponding switch fabric output data ports; two or more ingress units connected to provide input data to respective ones of the plurality of the ingress port pipes, the ingress unit transmitting epoch-formatted first packet data on the connected ingress port pipe during a first epoch and temporarily retaining the first packet data in memory beyond the end of the first epoch, the ingress unit comprising retransmission logic capable of initiating a retransmission of the retained first packet data during at least a second epoch; and two or more egress units connected to receive output data from respective ones of the plurality of the egress port pipes, the egress units receiving the epoch-formatted first packet data on the respective ones of the plurality of egress port pipes, each of the egress units comprising a data integrity unit to check the epoch-formatted first packet data for errors, and each of the plurality of the egress units connects to a respective one of a plurality of error signal channels; and retransmission logic capable of generating an error signal to another component of the packet switch over one of the plurality of the error signal channels when the epoch-formatted first packet data is received with an error. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A packet switch comprising:
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a plurality of ingress units, each ingress unit transmitting corresponding epoch-formatted first packet data during a first epoch and temporarily retaining the first packet data in memory beyond the end of the first epoch, each ingress unit comprising retransmission logic capable of initiating a retransmission of the retained first packet data during at least a second epoch; a switch fabric to receive the epoch-formatted first packet data from the ingress units and switch the epoch-formatted first packet data to corresponding ones of a plurality of egress units comprising a data integrity unit to check the epoch-formatted first packet data for errors, wherein the switch fabric is capable of modifying the correspondence between the ingress units and the egress units for different epochs; and retransmission logic capable of generating an error signal to another component of the packet switch when the epoch-formatted first packet data is received with an error. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification