Patent · US Expired

Method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack

US5754788A · kind A · utility

1Cited by
5References
13Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 28, 1995
Grant dateMay 19, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 28, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S707/99945
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A system provides a comstack manager used with a communications stack having any number of layers. These layers are located on different computers so as to spread the load of the communications stack across multiple computers. The comstack manager facilitates the reconfiguration of a communications stack without having to modify any of the layers of the communications stack. Each layer provides a single entrypoint through which it communicates to its adjacent layers and the layers of the communications stack communicate with each other using a message transfer system that has a single entrypoint for transferring messages. The single entrypoint of the layer provides compatibility among the layers and flexibility since each layer is not bound to a specific definition of the functions provided by another layer. Each layer only needs to know how to access the single entrypoint which is the same for each layer. The comstack manager performs its processing by receiving configuration information at runtime. This configuration information contains an indication of each of the layers in the communications stack, a reference to their location which indicates whether the layer is located on a…

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