Method implemented by a computer network adapter for autonomously adjusting a transmit commencement threshold valve upon concurrence of an underflow condition
US5778175A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 22, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jul 7, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 22, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L12/40013
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method implemented by a computer network adapter for automatic retransmission of any packet involved in an unsuccessful transmission attempt due to transmit buffer underflow conditions entails the steps of (a) stopping the transmission; and (b) retrying another transmission of the packet for up to a predetermined number of attempts with an increased transmit threshold. The transmit threshold is the number of bytes of data of the packet involved in the transmission that are stored in the transmit buffer prior to start of transmission. Preferably, for the initial transmission attempt, the adapter requires only a small number of bytes of the packet to be stored in the transmit buffer. After occurrence of a buffer underflow condition, the adapter attempts a retry in accordance with the algorithm only after a substantially larger portion of the packet has entered the transmit buffer for transmission. If any retry succeeds, the adapter need not issue an interrupt.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.