In accordance with an embodiment, a network device includes a network controller and at least one network interface coupled to the network controller that includes at least one media access control (MAC) device configured to be coupled to at least one physical layer interface (PHY). The network controller may be configured to determine a network path comprising the at least one network interface that has a lowest power consumption and minimum security attributes of available media types coupled to the at least one PHY.

A packet data network traffic management device comprises a plurality of ports comprising at least a first port, a second port, and a third port; and a plurality of deterministic multi-threaded deterministic micro-controllers, each of the micro-controllers associated with a corresponding one of the ports to control packet data through the corresponding port; and the plurality of multi-threaded deterministic micro-controllers cooperatively operate to selectively communicate data packets between the plurality of ports.

A system is provided in which a position for each device (relative to other devices) in a topology, and a corresponding device ID for each device, may be predetermined. Then, the predetermined position and corresponding device ID for each device may be compared to actual devices in a topology having preprogrammed device ID's and pre-assigned IP addresses. If the comparison produces a match, the pre-assigned IP addresses in the actual devices may be utilized. However, if the comparison does not produce a match, the condition may be reported for further action.

A packet communication method that generates a header that includes information to route a packet through a ring communication network is described. The header can include a target node identifier that identifies a target node to which the packet is to travel, and a direction identifier that identifies a direction to be traversed by the packet through the ring communication network. In some embodiments, the direction indicated by the direction identifier can be clockwise or counter-clockwise relative to a starting node from which the packet is to travel.

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for processing local area network (LAN) diagnostic data obtained in respect of a LAN, the LAN having at least one user-device located therein operable to communicate via a LAN gateway device with one or more remote devices in a communications network outside the LAN, the LAN gateway device having a wireless interface associated therewith in the LAN, the LAN diagnostic data including data packets received via the wireless interface at least some of which carry performance data relating to one or more predetermined performance characteristics of the LAN.

Methods and systems are provided for improved data packet transmission in a network bridge. Separate data packets received from a plurality of automation components are aggregated into a single data packet stream. The data packet stream is transmitted to another network node, for example, another network bridge.

Provided is a collision prevention system of a multi-master including: a plurality of external modules; and an integrated device. The integrated device includes: a plurality of interfaces connected respectively to the plurality of external modules and respectively controlled by corresponding external modules; a plurality of internal modules; a plurality of dedicated buffers connected respectively to the plurality of interfaces and the plurality of internal modules; and a common block connected to the plurality of dedicated buffers and controlled by the plurality of interfaces and the plurality of internal modules. The plurality of dedicated buffers includes a GBU and a plurality of LBUs. The GBU and the plurality of LBUs are connected to two neighboring GBUs and a plurality of LBUs to form a ring communication topology, which transmits ring communication data in one direction. The common block is connected to the ring communication topology through the GBU.

A packet data network traffic management device comprises a plurality of ports comprising at least a first port, a second port, and a third port; and a plurality of deterministic multi-threaded deterministic micro-controllers, each of the micro-controllers associated with a corresponding one of the ports to control packet data through the corresponding port; and the plurality of multi-threaded deterministic micro-controllers cooperatively operate to selectively communicate data packets between the plurality of ports.

In one embodiment, a method includes monitoring traffic in a Segment Routing (SR) network through a collection of a Segment Routing Demand Matrix (SRDM) at a Traffic Engineering (TE) system operating at a network device, receiving topology information for the SR network at the TE system, modeling the SR network based on the topology information and the SRDM at the TE system, identifying a violation of a constraint in the SR network at the TE system, and running an optimization algorithm for SR optimization of constraints in the SR network at the TE system, wherein the optimization comprises limiting a number of Segment Identifiers (SIDs) used in a SR policy implemented to resolve the constraint violation. An apparatus is also disclosed herein.

A data transfer system, a method of data transfer and a corresponding transmitter and receiver are disclosed. A communication protocol between the transmitter and receiver is defined using a set of valid transmission states for communication from the transmitter to the receiver and a set of valid acknowledgement states for transmission from the receiver to the transmitter. A Hamming distance between patterns of zeroes, and between patterns of ones, in valid states of each of these sets is at least one and the transmitter is arranged to transition between a number of transmission states in response to the reception of an acknowledgement state from the receiver which matches a transmission state it has sent to the receiver on a request bus. A communication protocol which is robust across a multi-voltage and/or clock domain interface is thus provided.