Multiplex communications – Channel assignment techniques – Combining or distributing information via time channels...
Reexamination Certificate
1996-09-18
2001-05-08
Marcelo, Melvin (Department: 2663)
Multiplex communications
Channel assignment techniques
Combining or distributing information via time channels...
C370S452000, C370S460000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06229816
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a network comprising a plurality of network equipment units interconnected via a ring which conveys transport frames of data units at a rate that determines the capacity of the ring, the capacity being formed by a used part and an unused part.
The invention likewise relates to a network equipment unit intended to be interconnected with at least another network equipment unit via a packet switching ring which conveys transport frames whose rate determines the capacity of the ring, said capacity being formed by a used part and an unused part.
The invention finally relates to a method of controlling the access to an interconnection ring of a plurality of network equipment units, said ring forwarding transport frames of data units at a rate that determines the capacity of the ring, said capacity being formed by a used part and an unused part.
The invention has meaningful applications, more specifically in the field of local area networks, and more particularly in the field of combining rings using an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) protocol, for, for example, wideband ISDN networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the problems posed in this type of networks is that of sharing the capacity of the ring between the various networks equipment units. The token ring technique, which is notably described in chapter 3.4.3 of the publication entitled “Reseaux, Architectures, Protocoles, Applications” by Andrew Tanenbaum, published by InterEditions in 1990, forms the conventional solution to this problem for rings of the Token Ring, FDDI . . . type. It consists of causing a particular bit sequence called a token to be forwarded permanently between the network equipment units when they have nothing to transmit. When an equipment unit wishes to transmit a frame, it is to take possession of the token and replace this token on the ring by the frame it wishes to transmit. A single equipment unit can thus transmit at a given instant, which induces all the others to postpone their request.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention notably has for its object to propose a method of controlling the access to an interconnection ring which does not have this drawback, as well as a network and a network equipment unit in which such a method is applied.
Therefore, a network according to the invention and as described in the opening paragraph is characterized in that the network comprises:
means for causing an information signal to be forwarded on the ring, which information signal represents the used part of the capacity of the ring and is updated by said equipment units,
means for giving said equipment units a transmission right which notably depends on the unused part of the capacity of the ring.
In a preferred embodiment a network according to the invention comprises means for sharing the capacity of the ring between equipment units by:
assigning to each equipment unit a minimum transmission right, and
dividing the unused part of the capacity of the ring depending on a dividing law between equipment units.
The invention thus makes it possible to optimize the access of the equipment units to the ring by permanently sharing the capacity of the ring between the various active equipment units in optimum fashion. Indeed, an information signal representing the used part of the capacity of the ring is permanently forwarded on the ring, so that an equipment unit may at any instant insert at least a number of data units corresponding to the minimum guaranteed transmission right into a transport frame, while the unused part of the capacity of the ring is furthermore divided between the active equipment units.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4718061 (1988-01-01), Turner
patent: 5446737 (1995-08-01), Cidon et al.
A. Ruiz et al., “An Architecture and Implementation for an FDDI MAC Concentrator”, SBT/IEEE International Telecommunications Symposium. ITS '90 (Cat. No. 90CH2901-7), pp. 255-259, Sep. 1990.*
Publication entitled “Reseaux Architectures, Protocoles, Applications” by Andrew Tanenbaum, published by InterEditions in 1990, p. 230-242.
Marcelo Melvin
Thorne Gregory L.
U.S. Philips Corporation
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