Fore Systems, Inc.

Jon Cr Bennett

Mahesh N Ganmukhi

Jay P Adams

Fan Zhou

Robert J Brownhill

Sandeep Shyamsukha

Nol Rananand

A queue control system is disclosed for use in connection with the transfer of information, in the form of information transfer units, in a digital network. The network provides a plurality of service rate classes, based on, for example transmission rates for the various paths. The information buffer control subsystem includes a information transfer unit receiver, a information transfer unit buffer and a group controller. The information transfer unit receiver receives the information transfer units, and the buffer is provided to buffer the received information transfer units prior to transmission. The group controller controls the buffering of information transfer units received by the information transfer unit receiver in the buffer. In that operation, the group controller aggregates the information transfer units for each path in the buffer according to respective service rate classes, in particular aggregating the information transfer units for each path in a queue and further aggregating the queues for the paths associated with each service rate class in a queue. A transmission scheduler is also disclosed for use in transferring information, in the form of information transfer units, each associated with a path, in a digital network. The network provides a plurality of service rate classes, based on, for example, transmission rates for the various paths. The information transfer units for each path in a path queue, and the path queues for the paths associated with each service rate class are aggregated in a service rate queue. The transmission scheduler includes a information transfer unit selector for selecting from among the service rate queues, one path queue to provide a information transfer unit for transmission, and a information transfer unit transmitter for transmitting the information transfer unit provided by the selected path queue.

Digital network including mechanism for grouping virtual message

A system and method of generating flow control information for a switching node for a digital network is disclosed. The network includes a source device and a destination device interconnected by the switching node. The source device generates cells for transmission at a selected transmission rate to the destination device over a path through the switching node to transmit data in a downstream direction from the source device to the destination device. The source device further periodically generates resource management cells for transmission to the destination device over the path in the downstream direction, and the destination device returns the resource management cells over the path in upstream direction through the switching node to the source device. The switching node includes a buffer for buffering cells transmitted in the downstream direction, a cell receiver for receiving cells from the network and buffering the received cells in the buffer, a cell transmitter for transmitting cells buffered in the buffer. The resource management cell information generator generates the flow control information for inclusion in resource management cells to be transmitted by the cell transmitter. In generating the flow control information, a maximum allowed rate value is periodically generated in response to a buffer occupancy rate identifying the current portion of the buffer currently buffering cells for transmission. The flow control information said flow control information for inclusion in a resource management cell buffered in said buffer, the flow control information being generated in relation to the maximum allowed rate value most recently generated by said periodic statistic generator and an adjustment factor value generated in relation to changes in the buffer occupancy.

System and method for generating explicit rate value information for

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Neville Island, PA, United States of America

Jon Cr Bennett