A packet communications network is adapted for efficiently handling of multi-priority traffic (such as multi-media traffic) by defining an access algorithm that not only ensures the requested loss probabilities for both priorities of traffic, but also optimizes the bandwidth required to carry both priority classes. A buffer having a properly sized occupancy threshold admits high priority traffic if there is room in the buffer, but admits lower priority traffic only if the buffer occupancy is below the occupancy threshold. The resulting consolidated multi-priority traffic can then be characterized by an effective bandwidth which increases the packet network capacity substantially. The multi-priority access mechanisms require little or no changes in the prior art access mechanisms and utilize pre-existing leaky bucket, route selection and link metric mechanisms of the prior art.
A traffic management policing device (TMPD) (600) and method (TMPM) (700) monitor and substantially enforce a sustainable cell rate (SCR) and burst tolerance (BT) in a cell relay network utilizing a second-order leaky bucket system in conjunction with a peak cell rate (PCR) leaky bucket, thus substantially providing a predetermined quality of service.
A method for increasing the total capacity of a network, the network including a first plurality of communication edges interconnecting a second plurality or communication nodes, the first plurality of communication edges and the second plurality of communication nodes having corresponding first and second pluralities of capacity values respectively, the first and second pluralities of capacity values determining the total capacity of the network. The method includes expanding the capacity value of at last an individual communication edge from among the first plurality of communication edges, the individual edge connecting first and second communication nodes from among the second plurality of communication nodes, without expanding the capacity value of the first communication node, wherein the expanding step includes reducing the capacity value of at least one additional communication edge connecting the first communication node and a third node, different from the second node.
The present invention is a directory server for monitoring network access requests, which includes a storage device for storing data items and an identifier associated with a monitoring node for at least a selected data item of the data items; a communication device for transmitting signals to the monitoring node; and a processing device, coupled to the storage device and the communication device. The processing device receives a network access request for the selected data item and, responsive to receipt of the request, automatically transmits a signal notifying the monitoring node of the request via the communication device, thereby enabling the monitoring node, e.g., a third party, to enforce traffic class priorities and access characteristics of the network.
Method and system for adapting access to a packet switching network including a dynamic bandwidth adjustment mechanism which continuously monitors the mean bit rate of the signal source and the loss probability of the connection. These values are filtered to remove noise and then used to test whether the values fall within a pre-defined acceptable adaptation region in the mean bit rate, loss probability plane. Values falling outside of this region trigger bandwidth adaptation procedures which, in turn, result in acquiring a new connection bandwidth, and determining new parameters for the adaptation mechanism. Furthermore, the mechanism controls the number of connections that can be adapted by a single processor, given its processing capability. It ensures fairness between the connections in the sense that it prevents a single connection from using, on the average, a greater portion of the processor capacity than it should.
The invention relates to a buffer management method for sharing the storage capacity F of a buffer between its users, such as queues, communication links or equivalent, which store packets in the buffer, in which method the total number of packets stored in the buffer is calculated and, based on this, the buffer capacity to be granted to the users is controlled. According to the invention, a modified total number of packets T* stored in the buffer is determined from equation (1), where N=total number of users; a(i)=minimum buffer capacity (a(i>0)) allocated for user i; and c(i)=actual buffer capacity occupied by user i at the reference instant. Further, the storage of additional packets by user i is inhibited if the total T*>F and c(i)>a(i). ##EQU1##
