Patent · US Expired

Method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack

US5951647A · kind A · utility

4Cited by
37References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 3, 1998
Grant dateSep 14, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 3, 2018

Classification

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

Abstract

A method and system for reconfiguring a communications stack. The system provides a comstack manager that can be used with a communications stack having any number of layers, which may be located on different computers. In addition, the comstack manager facilitates the reconfiguration of a communications stack without having to modify any communications stack layers. Each layer provides a single entrypoint through which it communicates to its adjacent layers, and the communications stack layers 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 another layer's functions. That is, each layer only needs to know how to access the single entrypoint which is the same for each layer. The comstack manager receives configuration information at runtime that contains an indication of each communications stack layer, a reference to their location which indicates whether the layer is located on a local or remote computer, and the ordering of the layers. After receiving the configurat…

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