Systems and methods for managing the processing of relatively large data

Abstract

Management of the processing of relatively large data objects in a communications stack having multiple layers improves the performance in a communications system in preparing relatively large data objects for transmission across a communications network. This reduces or eliminates data movement and copying during segmentation of the relatively large data objects into relatively small data objects, and appendage of headers to the relatively small data object segments during processing in the communications stack. A shared storage manager creates and controls multiple tokens representing multiple images of portions of the relatively large data objects to enable separate scheduling of the multiple images from the same storage unit or buffer to be passed from one layer in a communications stack to the next lower layer in the communications stack. The large data object is segmented into a plurality of relatively small data object segments at one or more of the layers in the communications stack. When dictated by the communications stack, header segments are also created for each relatively small data object segment. Each header segment contains specific information for the relatively small data object segment to which the header corresponds. A separate buffer list is generated by the communications stack for each relatively small data object segment and for each corresponding header segment.