Transmission device, transmission method and computer program

• US 9,167,477 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2011
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Koichi, Kamada, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): WILLIAMS, JENEE LAUREN
• Application Number:
  US13/640,950
• Publication Number:
  US 20130033985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 370/231
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/266 Stopping or restarting the source, e.g. X-on or X-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/12 using signalling between network elements

Abstract

Flow control can be performed for every piece of end-to-end traffic. A transmission device includes a reception buffer which temporarily accumulates received transmission unit data, a signal generation section configured to generate a control signal for instructing to stop transmission of transmission unit data by designating another transmission device serving as an end point of a transmission side for traffic of the transmission unit data to be received by its own device as a transmission destination when an amount of accumulation in the reception buffer has exceeded a predetermined upper-limit threshold value, and a transmission section configured to transmit the control signal.

Claims

1. A transmission device, comprising:

a computing device, which includes processing device and a memory, the memory having stored therein computer code configured to cause the computing device, upon execution of the computer code by the processing device, to operate as;

a reception buffer which temporarily accumulates received transmission unit data;

a signal generation section which, upon a determination that an amount of accumulation in the reception buffer has exceeded a predetermined upper-limit threshold value, generates a control signal that instructs an other transmission device to stop transmission of transmission unit data by designating, for only traffic of the transmission unit data for which the transmission device serves as an end point of a reception side among a plurality of pieces of traffic accommodated in a physical link, all transmission devices serving as end points of a transmission side in the traffic as transmission destinations, and does not instruct an intermediate transmission device disposed between the transmission device and the other transmission device to stop transmission; and

a transmission section which transmits the control signal to the other transmission device.

2. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein,

the signal generation section generates a control signal that instructs to resume the transmission of the transmission unit data by designating the other transmission device as the transmission destination, and

the transmission section transmits the control signal that instructs to resume the transmission of the transmission unit data.

3. The transmission device according to claim 2, wherein the signal generation section generates the control signal by setting a predetermined value in an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) frame.

4. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the signal generation section generates the control signal by setting a predetermined value in an operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) frame.

5. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the control signal is transmitted over a transmission packet.

6. A transmission method, comprising:

a signal generation step of generating, by a transmission device having a reception buffer which temporarily accumulates received transmission unit data, and upon a determination that an amount of accumulation in the reception buffer has exceeded a predetermined upper-limit threshold value, a control signal that instructs an other transmission device to stop transmission of transmission unit data by designating, for only traffic of the transmission unit data for which the transmission device serves as an end point of a reception side among a plurality of pieces of traffic accommodated in a physical link, all transmission devices serving as end points of a transmission side in the traffic as transmission destinations, and does not instruct an intermediate transmission device that is disposed between the transmission device and the other transmission device to stop transmission; and

a transmission step of transmitting, by the transmission device, the control signal to the other transmission device.

7. The transmission device according to claim 6, wherein the control signal is transmitted over a transmission packet.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program thereon that causes, upon execution by a processing unit of a transmission device having a reception buffer which temporarily accumulates received transmission unit data, the transmission device to execute:

a signal generation step of generating, upon a determination that an amount of accumulation in the reception buffer has exceeded a predetermined upper-limit threshold value, a control signal that instructs an other transmission device to stop transmission of transmission unit data by designating, for only traffic of the transmission unit data for which the transmission device serves as an end point of a reception side among a plurality of pieces of traffic accommodated in a physical link, all transmission devices serving as end points of a transmission side in the traffic as transmission destinations, and does not instruct an intermediate transmission device that is disposed between the transmission device and the other transmission device to stop transmission; and

a transmission step of transmitting, by the transmission device, the control signal to the other transmission device.

9. The transmission device according to claim 8, wherein the control signal is transmitted over a transmission packet.