Dynamically adjusting frame MTU to support low-latency communication
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a receiver, a data frame from a sender over a shared-communication network, the frame sent according to a maximum transmission unit (MTU), wherein the MTU is a frame MTU that limits an amount of time that the data frame occupies a particular channel;
determining, by the receiver, whether the MTU needs to be dynamically adjusted by the sender based on latency requirements of flows that the receiver or a neighboring device of the receiver is servicing, wherein the receiver and sender operate in either a half-duplex mode or a full-duplex mode;
based on a determination that the MTU needs to be dynamically adjusted by the sender, adjusting the MTU by setting an interrupt flag in a link-layer acknowledgment for the received data frame, wherein the MTU is reduced when urgent traffic needs to be serviced by the receiver or a neighboring device and the MTU is increased when urgent traffic does not need to be serviced by the receiver or a neighboring device; and
replying to the sender with the link-layer acknowledgment and interrupt flag, wherein replying occurs in response to completion of the received data frame from the sender in half-duplex mode, and prior to completion of the received data frame from the sender in full-duplex mode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a sender in a shared-communication network determines whether a pending frame is low-latency or high-throughput, and sets a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the pending frame as a first MTU in response to a low-latency frame and a longer second MTU in response to a high-throughput frame. In another embodiment, a receiver receives a data frame from a sender according to an MTU, and determines a trigger for adjusting the MTU based on latency requirements. In response to the trigger, the receiver sets an interrupt flag in a link-layer acknowledgment for the received data frame. In still another embodiment, a sender determines a pending low-latency data frame to send to a receiver operating according to an MTU, and sends a control message to the receiver to indicate the pending low-latency data frame and an adjusted MTU.
33 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving, by a receiver, a data frame from a sender over a shared-communication network, the frame sent according to a maximum transmission unit (MTU), wherein the MTU is a frame MTU that limits an amount of time that the data frame occupies a particular channel; determining, by the receiver, whether the MTU needs to be dynamically adjusted by the sender based on latency requirements of flows that the receiver or a neighboring device of the receiver is servicing, wherein the receiver and sender operate in either a half-duplex mode or a full-duplex mode; based on a determination that the MTU needs to be dynamically adjusted by the sender, adjusting the MTU by setting an interrupt flag in a link-layer acknowledgment for the received data frame, wherein the MTU is reduced when urgent traffic needs to be serviced by the receiver or a neighboring device and the MTU is increased when urgent traffic does not need to be serviced by the receiver or a neighboring device; and replying to the sender with the link-layer acknowledgment and interrupt flag, wherein replying occurs in response to completion of the received data frame from the sender in half-duplex mode, and prior to completion of the received data frame from the sender in full-duplex mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method, comprising:
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determining, by a sender, whether a pending data frame to send to a receiver over a shared-communication network is low-latency, the receiver operating according to a maximum transmission unit (MTU), wherein the MTU is a frame MTU that limits an amount of time that the data frame can occupy a particular channel, wherein the receiver operates in either a half-duplex mode or a full-duplex mode; in response to the pending data frame being an urgent data frame, dynamically adjusting, by the sender, the MTU to account for the pending data frame, wherein the MTU is reduced when urgent traffic exists and is increased when urgent traffic does not exist; sending a control message to the receiver to indicate the pending data frame is latency critical and an adjusted MTU, wherein sending the control message occurs in response to hearing an acknowledgment sent from the receiver to a remote transmitting device in half-duplex mode, and prior to completion of a transmission from a remote transmitting device to the receiver in full-duplex mode; receiving an acknowledgment for the received control message; and sending the urgent data frame to the receiver at the adjusted MTU in response to the acknowledgment. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method, comprising:
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determining whether a pending frame is urgent or not by a sender in a shared-communication network; dynamically adjusting a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the pending frame as a first MTU in response to the pending frame being urgent and a second MTU in response to the pending frame not being urgent, wherein the first MTU is shorter than the second MTU, wherein the first MTU reduces the overall throughput and the second MTU increases the overall throughput and wherein the first and second MTUs are frame MTUs that limit an amount of time that the pending frame can occupy a particular channel; setting the second MTU individually, wherein the second MTU is different for each neighbor pair in the network; and transmitting the pending frame to a receiver at the dynamically adjusted MTU. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. An apparatus, comprising:
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one or more network interfaces to communicate in a shared-media communication network; a processor coupled to the network interfaces and adapted to execute one or more processes; and a memory configured to store a process executable by the processor, the process when executed operable to; determine whether a pending frame of the apparatus is urgent or not; in response to a determination that the pending frame is urgent, dynamically adjust a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the pending frame as a first MTU in response to the pending frame being urgent and as a second MTU in response to the pending frame not being urgent, wherein the first MTU is shorter than the second MTU, wherein the first MTU reduces the overall throughput and the second MTU increases the overall throughput and wherein the first and second MTUs are frame MTUs that limit an amount of time that the pending frame can occupy a particular channel; set the second MTU individually, wherein the second MTU is different for each neighbor pair in the network; and transmitting the pending frame to a receiver at the dynamically adjusted MTU. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification