Efficient method and apparatus for allocating memory space used for buffering cells received on several connections in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch
US6292492A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 20, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 18, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 20, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L12/5601
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A switch guaranteeing a minimum amount of memory space for desired connection while allowing efficient dynamic change of maximum memory space that can be used by a connection. Only an amount of memory space which is required for guaranteeing the minimum amount of memory space is reserved. When the reserved space is decremented due to new cells being received on connections, the maximum memory space reserved for each connection is dynamically increased. For multicast connections, only a single copy of the cell data is stored even though a multicast cell is transmitted on several ports. Multicast cells can also be processed using the same signals used for processing unicast cells.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.