Patent · US Expired

Token-passing local area network with improved throughput

US4866706A · kind A · utility

113Cited by
6References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 27, 1987
Grant dateSep 12, 1989
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 27, 2007

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L12/417
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A controller is disclosed for use in a local area network preferably of the type having a token-passing protocol. The controller modifies the contents of a data packet or message as it moves on the network media, thereby to intercept, modify and redirect the data message to nodes other than the originally addressed node. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the controller is associated with a high-information node (e.g., a file server) connected in a network with a plurality of low-information nodes. The controller modifies the token address transmitted with the token packet from the high-information node after a number of data transmissions so that the token rather than being passed to the next node is returned to the high-information node, thereby allowing a plurality of successive data transmissions to be made in succession from the high-information node to one or more of the low-information nodes.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.