Network switch including bandwidth allocation controller
US6680908B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 13, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 20, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 13, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/351
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A network switch includes a plurality of receive ports for receiving addressed data packets and a plurality of transmit ports for forwarding the addressed data packets and structure responsive to data in said the packets for directing received packets to the transmit ports. In respect of at least one of the transmit ports the switch includes an output buffer for storing data packets before they are forwarded from the port and an allocation controller. The allocation controller allocates each packet destined for the buffer and each packet leaving the buffer for the port into at least one of a plurality of categories, which may be based on priority or protocol data and may define traffic types such as video or audio. For each of the categories there is an allocation register for defining a respective selected proportion of the memory space of the output buffer and structure for accumulating a running total of packet sizes, the total being reduced by the size of each packet in the respective category and leaving the buffer for the port. A packet is discarded when the running total of packet sizes for packets of the same category exceeds the respective proportion of the memory space de…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.