Regulating data-burst transfer
US7369491B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 14, 2003 |
| Grant date | May 6, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 11, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2011/0064
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention discloses methods and apparatus for regulating the transfer of data bursts across a data network comprising electronic edge nodes interconnected by fast-switching optical core nodes. To facilitate switching at an electronic edge node, data bursts are organized into data segments of equal size. A data segment may include null data in addition to information bits. The null data are removed at the output of an edge node and the information data is collated into bursts, each carrying only information bits in addition to a header necessary for downstream processing. To ensure loss-free transfer of bursts from the edge to the core, burst transfer permits are generated at controllers of the optical core and sent to respective edge nodes based on flow-rate-allocation requests. Null-padding is not visible outside the edge nodes and only the information content is subject to transfer rate regulation to ensure high efficiency and high service quality.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.