Data communication network with transfer port, cascade port and/or frame synchronizing signal
DC CAFCFirst Claim
1. In a data communication network for communicating data between a plurality of data stations over a communications medium under control of a processor which outputs a plurality of control signals, apparatus comprising:
- a receive memory means and a transmit memory means;
a receive datapath corresponding to each data station coupled between said communications medium and said receive memory means for providing at least some data received over said communications medium to said receive memory means;
a transmit datapath corresponding to each data station coupled between said transmit memory means and said communications medium for providing at least some data from said transmit memory means to said communications medium;
each said receive datapath including;
a deserializer configured to receive serial data from said communications medium and output at least a portion of said received serial data in parallel;
means for selectively transmitting, in response to one of said plurality of control signals, said data output by said deserializer to said receive memory means;
each said transmit datapath including a serializer configured to receive parallel data and output serial data.
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Abstract
A data communication system, such as a local area network, is provided with a capability of transmitting isochronous data. Preferably the system conveys both isochronous data and non-isochronous data by time-multiplexing the data into a recurring frame structure on a four-bit nibble basis. An efficient encoding scheme permits transmission of both isochronous and non-isochronous data over existing media, such as twisted pair, without degrading bandwidth previously achieved for non-isochronous data over the same media, such as using an ethernet system. Bandwidth available for a particular isochronous source/sink is selectable and sustainable with a predefined granularity. The arriving data is de-multiplexed at the hub into separate channels for handling the separate streams by appropriate hardware. Preferably, the present invention can be implemented in a fashion that is transparent to already-installed media access controllers. Preferably, some components of the system can detect the frame-transmission capability of other components and, if such capability is lacking, can fall back to a mode compliant with existing capabilities.
129 Citations
141 Claims
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1. In a data communication network for communicating data between a plurality of data stations over a communications medium under control of a processor which outputs a plurality of control signals, apparatus comprising:
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a receive memory means and a transmit memory means;
a receive datapath corresponding to each data station coupled between said communications medium and said receive memory means for providing at least some data received over said communications medium to said receive memory means;
a transmit datapath corresponding to each data station coupled between said transmit memory means and said communications medium for providing at least some data from said transmit memory means to said communications medium;
each said receive datapath including;
a deserializer configured to receive serial data from said communications medium and output at least a portion of said received serial data in parallel;
means for selectively transmitting, in response to one of said plurality of control signals, said data output by said deserializer to said receive memory means;
each said transmit datapath including a serializer configured to receive parallel data and output serial data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. In a data communication network for communicating between data stations over a communications medium under control of a processor which outputs a plurality of control signals, apparatus comprising:
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a receive memory device and a transmit memory device;
a plurality of receive datapaths for providing at least some data received over said media to said receive memory device;
a plurality of transmit datapaths for providing at least some data from said transmit memory device to said communications medium;
each of said receive datapaths including a deserializer configured to receive serial data and output at least a portion of said received serial data in parallel;
a latch which, in response to one of said plurality of control signals, controllably provides said data output by said deserializer to said receive memory device;
each of said transmit datapaths including a serializer configured to receive parallel data and output serial data.
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15. In a data communication network for communicating data between data stations over a communications medium, said network including at least first and second network data stations, said first network data station coupled to a first plurality of said data stations and also coupled to said second network data station, said second network data station being coupled to a second plurality of said data stations, said first network data station comprising:
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a receive memory device and a transmit memory device;
a receive datapath coupled between said communications medium and said receive memory means for providing at least some data received over said media to said receive memory device;
a transmit datapath coupled between said transmit memory means and said communications medium for providing at least some data from said transmit memory device to said communications medium;
a first-in-first-out buffer coupled to said first network data station for receiving data from said transmit memory device and holding said data before providing said data to said second network data station; and
wherein said first-in-first-out buffer is configured to output its contents in response to a signal transmitted by said second network data station.
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16. In a data communication network for communicating isochronous and non-isochronous data between data stations over a communications medium under control of a processor which outputs a plurality of control signals, an apparatus comprising:
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a receive memory and a transmit memory;
one or more receive datapaths for providing at least some data received over the communications medium to the receive memory;
one or more transmit datapaths for providing at least some data from the transmit memory to the communications medium;
each of the receive datapaths including a deserializer configured to receive serial data and output at least a portion of the received serial data in parallel;
a latch which, in response to one of the plurality of control signals, controllably provides the data output by the deserializer to the receive memory;
each of the transmit datapaths including a serializer configured to receive parallel data and output serial data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. In a data communication network for communicating isochronous and non-isochronous data between data stations over a communications medium including at least first and second network data stations, the first network data station being coupled to one or more first data stations and also coupled to the second network data station, the second network data station being coupled to one or more second data stations, the first network data station comprising:
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a receive memory and a transmit memory;
a receive datapath coupled between the communications medium and the receive memory, wherein the receive datapath provides at least some data received over the communications medium to the receive memory;
a transmit datapath coupled between the transmit memory and the communications medium wherein the transmit datapath provides at least some data from the transmit memory to the communications medium;
a first-in-first-out buffer receiving the at least some data from the transmit memory and holding the data before communicating the data to the second network data station; and
wherein the first-in-first-out buffer is configured to output its contents in response to a signal transmitted by the second network data station. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99)
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100. In a data communication network for communicating isochronous and non-isochronous data between data stations over a communications medium including at least first and second network data stations, the first network data station being coupled to one or more first data stations and also coupled to the second network data station, the second network data station being coupled to one or more second data stations, a method comprising the steps of:
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storing data received from the communications medium in a receive memory of the first network data station;
providing data stored in a transmit memory of the first network data station to the communications medium, wherein data received from the transmit memory is buffered with a first-in-first-out buffer, wherein the data is held by the first-in-first-out buffer before the data is communicated to the second network data station; and
wherein the first-in-first-out buffer is configured to output its contents in response to a signal transmitted by the second network data station. - View Dependent Claims (101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141)
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Specification