Patent · US Expired

Method and switch controller for relieving flow congestion in network

US7046632B2 · kind B2 · utility

3Cited by
18References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 15, 2001
Grant dateMay 16, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 8, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L47/32
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A switch controller using a congestion control method can relieve congestion in a network. The Ethernet switch controller has the capacity to select a suitable congestion control mode according to each connection port and state of the connected device. If a flow control mode is selected, the switch controller issues a flow control frame and waits for the passing of a guard period roughly equivalent to a period of about inputting three packets. If the connected device continues to transmit network packets after the guard period, the switch controller switches from the flow control mode to a drop control mode. Hence, the received packets are discarded and congestion is prevented. Consequently, the switch controller of this invention can still carry out congestion control operation when the switch controller is connected to a device having no standard flow control capability.

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