Flow control for multi-hop networks
US7761589B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 4, 2003 |
| Grant date | Jul 20, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 21, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L47/266
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Solutions are provided that allow a network device to apply flow control on the MAC layer while taking into account the priority of the frame of traffic. This may be accomplished by generating a frame indicating that traffic flow should be paused, while utilizing a new opcode value, or alternatively by utilizing a new type/length value (possibly combined with a new opcode value). A receiving device may then examine the fields of the frame to determine whether it should it should use priority-based pausing, and then examine other fields to determine which priority-levels to pause and for how long. This allows for improved efficiency in flow control at the MAC layer. Additionally, the tagged pause frames can be forwarded over multiple hops on Local Area Networks across a Metropolitan Area Network or Wide Area Network.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.