Control logic circuitry stores packets in a queue in an order in which the packets are received. A head entry of the queue corresponds to an oldest packet in the order. The control logic circuitry receives flow control information corresponding to multiple target devices including at least a first target device and a second target device. The control logic circuitry determines, using the flow control information, whether the oldest packet stored in the head entry can be transferred to the first target device, and in response to determining that the oldest packet stored in the head entry cannot be transferred to the first target device, i) selects an other entry with an other packet behind the head entry according to the order, and ii) transfers the other packet to the second target device prior to transferring the oldest packet in the head entry to the first target device.

A reduced-complexity optical packet switch which can provide a deterministic guaranteed rate of service to individual traffic flows is described. The switch contains N input ports, M output ports and N*M Virtual Output Queues (VOQs). Packets are associated with a flow f, which arrive an input port and depart on an output port, according to a predetermined routing for the flow. These packets are buffered in a VOQ. The switch can be configured to store several deterministic periodic schedules, which can be managed by an SDN control-plane. A scheduling frame is defined as a set of F consecutive time-slots, where data can be transmitted over connections between input ports and output ports in each time-slot. Each input port can be assigned a first deterministic periodic transmission schedule, which determines which VOQ is selected to transmit, for every time-slot in the scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a second deterministic periodic schedule, which determines which traffic flow within a VOQ is selected to transmit. Each input port can be assigned a third deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined, for each time-slot in a scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a fourth deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which Flow-VOQ within a VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined. In this manner, each traffic flow can receive a deterministic guaranteed-rate of transmission through the switch.

The invention relates to a method for efficiently discarding data packets destined to a mobile station connected to both a master base station and a secondary base station. The master base station configures a secondary discard function in a lower layer of the secondary base station, based on the master discard function in the higher layer of the master base station. The master base station forwards the data packet from the higher layer to the lower of the secondary base station. The secondary discard function of the lower layer at the secondary base station discards the received data packet upon expiry of the secondary timer started by the lower layer upon reception of the data packet from the higher layer at the master base station.

Disclosed herein is technology to reduce latency of frames through a network device supporting various priorities. In an implementation, a method comprises configuring one or more priorities with a preemptive right over other one or more of said plurality of priorities; receiving frames in a sequence, each of the frames having a frame priority comprising of one of said plurality of priorities; queuing the received frames in a predetermined order based on a frame arrival time and the frame priority; transmitting a current frame based on a current frame priority and current frame arrival time; stopping transmission of the current frame when a later frame in the sequence is received that has a later frame priority with preemptive right over the current frame priority; transmitting an invalid frame check sequence; transmitting the later frame; and restarting the transmission of the current frame after transmitting the later frame.

A system and method for distributing packets in a network arc disclosed. The method comprises a step of receiving at least one data packet at a first node front a second node. The method also comprises a step of determining a current set of weights which are applied by the second node to distribute data packets across the first plurality of links. The received data packets are analysed to determine if the current set of weights are to be adjusted (step S102). When it is determined that the current set of weights is to be adjusted, an adjusted set of weights is generated by determining an adjustment factor (step S104). The adjustment factor is applied to the current weight for the selected link and at least one other current w eight in the current set of w eights.

Predictive management of a network buffer is contemplated. The network buffer maybe predictively managed to control packet drop based at least in part on predicted sojourn time. The predicted sojourn time may be determined to predict time needed from an arriving packet to travel through a queue of the network buffer.

A reduced-complexity optical packet switch which can provide a deterministic guaranteed rate of service to individual traffic flows is described. The switch contains N input ports, M output ports and N*M Virtual Output Queues (VOQs). Packets are associated with a flow f, which arrive an input port and depart on an output port, according to a predetermined routing for the flow. These packets are buffered in a VOQ. The switch can be configured to store several deterministic periodic schedules, which can be managed by an SDN control-plane. A scheduling frame is defined as a set of F consecutive time-slots, where data can be transmitted over connections between input ports and output ports in each time-slot. Each input port can be assigned a first deterministic periodic transmission schedule, which determines which VOQ is selected to transmit, for every time-slot in the scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a second deterministic periodic schedule, which determines which traffic flow within a VOQ is selected to transmit. Each input port can be assigned a third deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined, for each time-slot in a scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a fourth deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which Flow-VOQ within a VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined. In this manner, each traffic flow can receive a deterministic guaranteed-rate of transmission through the switch.

The invention relates to a method and to a device that describe a real-time network plan for industrial control and monitoring applications, wherein standard Ethernet switching elements are used for the communication network, in particular on the basis of the new mechanisms according to the IEEE 802.1 TSN Task Group. The sequence plan combines clocked data transfer with the stream reservation concept and thus provides determinism with guaranteed maximum latency and access controls at runtime.

Various example embodiments for supporting scalable deterministic services in packet networks are presented. Various example embodiments for supporting scalable deterministic services in packet networks may be configured to support delay guarantees (e.g., finite end-to-end delay bounds) for a class of traffic flows referred to as guaranteed-delay (GD) traffic flows. Various example embodiments for supporting scalable deterministic services in packet networks may be configured to support delay guarantees for GD traffic flows of a network based on a queuing arrangement that is based on network outputs of the network, a packet scheduling method that is configured to support scheduling of packets of the GD traffic flows, and a service rate allocation rule configured to support delay guarantees for the GD traffic flows.

A distributed computing system, such as may be used to implement an electronic trading system, supports a notion of fairness in latency. The system does not favor any particular client. Thus, being connected to a particular access point into the system (such as via a gateway) does not give any particular device an unfair advantage or disadvantage over another. That end is accomplished by precisely controlling latency, that is, the time between when request messages arrive at the system and a time at which corresponding response messages are permitted to leave. The precisely controlled, deterministic latency can be fixed over time, or it can vary according to some predetermined pattern, or vary randomly within a pre-determined range of values.