Managing devices within a vehicular communication network

A method for concurrent communications in a vehicle communications network, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a network manager of a vehicle, a plurality of communications packets, each packet having a source address and destination address;
• storing, by the network manager, the received plurality of communications packets to a transmission queue;
• identifying, by the network manager, a first set of network resources required for transmission of a first packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a first destination;
• identifying, by the network manager, a second set of network resources required for transmission of a second packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a second destination;
• determining, by the network manager, that the first set of network resources is distinct from the second set of network resources;
• and
• concurrently transmitting, by the network manager responsive to the determination, the first packet via a first path comprising the first set of network resources and the second packet via the second set of network resources, wherein identifying the second set of network resources required for transmission of the second packet of the received plurality of communications packets further comprises:
• determining a second path between a second source address of the second packet and a second destination address of the second packet;
• if the second path is determined to utilize at least one of a first switching module and a first bridging module in the first path;
• and
• responsive to the determination that the second path utilizes at least one of the first switching module and the first bridging module, identifying a third path between the second source address of the second packet and the second destination address of the second packet that does not include the first switching module and the first bridging module, wherein identifying the third path is performed responsive to a determination that the second packet has a lower priority than the first packet.

A system for concurrent communications in a vehicle communications network, comprising:

• a network manager of a vehicle in communication with a network fabric comprising one or more switching modules and one or more bridging modules, the network manager configured to:
• receive a plurality of communications packets, each packet having a source address and destination address, store the received plurality of communications packets to a transmission queue, identify a first set of network resources required for transmission of a first packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a first destination, the first set of network resources comprising at least one network module between the network manager and the first destination,
• identify a second set of network resources required for transmission of a second packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a second destination, the second set of network resources comprising at least one network module between the network manager and the second destination,
• determine that the at least one network module between the network manager and the second destination is different than the at least one network module between the network manager and the first destination, and
• concurrently transmit, responsive to the determination, the first packet via the first set of network resources and the second packet via the second set of network resources.

A system for concurrent communications in a vehicle communications network, the system comprising:

• a network manager of a vehicle in communication with a network fabric comprising one or more switching modules and one or more bridging modules, the network manager configured to:
• receive a plurality of communications packets, each packet having a source address and destination address,
• store the received plurality of communications packets to a transmission queue, identify a first set of network resources required for transmission of a first packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a first destination, the first set of network resources comprising at least one network module on a first path between the network manager and the first destination,
• identify a second set of network resources required for transmission of a second packet of the received plurality of communications packets to a second destination, the second set of network resources comprising at least one network module on a second path between the network manager and the second destination,
• determine that the first set of network resources is distinct from the second set of network resources, and
• concurrently transmit, responsive to the determination, the first packet via the first set of network resources and the second packet via the second set of network resources, wherein the first path comprises a first switching module and a first bridging module, wherein the second set of network resources required for transmission of the second packet of the received plurality of communications packets does not include the first switching module and the first bridging module, wherein each packet is associated with a priority, wherein the network manager is further configured to identify a third path responsive to a determination that the second packet has a lower priority than the first packet if the first set of network resources is not distinct from the second set of network resources.