Digital Equipment Corporation

Cabletron Systems, Inc.

Philip J Wells

Bruce Eric Mann

Christian D Saether

Congestion control in a network

A message transfer arrangement includes a client node and a server node interconnected by a data link. The client node sequentially receives requests from user applications and generates, in response to each request, command messages for transmission by the interface. Each command message includes a command, a transmit slot identifier identifying the request in the sequence of requests received by the request receiver, and a transmit sequence identifier identifying the channel message in the sequence of command relating to the request. The selection of whether to transmit a command message related to one request or to a subsequent request is based on a received slot identifier and a received sequence identifier in a response message. The server node receives command messages from, and transmits response messages to, the client node over the data link. It selectively executes the command contained in each command message and generates, in response thereto, a response message including a response slot identifier and response sequence identifier corresponding to the commanmd slot identifier and command sequence identifier. The determination of whether to execute a command in a command message is based on the command slot identifier and command sequence identifier of the received command message and the command slot identifier and command sequence identifier of the command message containing the previously executed command.

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Maynard, MA, United States of America

Philip J Wells