Method of flow control for data transported using isochronous packets over an IEEE 1394-2000 serial bus network

A method of performing retransmission and flow control comprising:

• a. configuring an isochronous channel between a transmitting device and a receiving device as an isochronous back channel for providing retransmission and flow control information from the receiving device to the transmitting device related to a stream of isochronous data packets transmitted from the transmitting device to the source device;
• b. monitoring the stream of isochronous data packets received at the receiving device for necessary retransmission or flow control;
• c. configuring an isochronous back channel packet for indicating a retransmission or flow control function to perform;
• and
• d. transmitting the isochronous back channel packet from the receiving device to the transmitting device over the isochronous back channel.

A method of transmitting flow control and retransmission information comprising:

• a. configuring a transmitting plug on a receiving device for transmitting an isochronous back channel packet over an isochronous channel via the transmitting plug to a transmitting device;
• b. determining flow control and retransmission information based on the status of a received isochronous data packet at the receiving device, wherein the received isochronous data packet is one of a stream of isochronous data packets transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device;
• c. packetizing flow control and retransmission information within the isochronous back channel packet;
• and
• d. transmitting the isochronous back channel packet from the receiving device over the isochronous back channel via the transmitting plug.

A method of receiving flow control and retransmission information comprising:

• a. configuring a receiving plug on a transmitting device for receiving an isochronous back channel packet from a receiving device, wherein the isochronous back channel packet is received over an isochronous channel via the receiving plug;
• b. receiving the isochronous back channel packet via the receiving plug;
• c. reading flow control and retransmission information included within the isochronous back channel packet wherein the flow control and retransmission information relates to a stream of isochronous data packets transmitted from the transmitting device to the receiving device and provides a control instruction to the transmitting device to regulate transmission of the stream of isochronous data packets;
• and
• d. regulating transmission of the stream of isochronous data packets as determined by the control instruction.

A method of configuring a plug to support an isochronous back channel comprising:

• a. embedding a back channel flow control information block within a plug configuration information block;
• b. defining a back channel information type within the back channel flow control information block, wherein the back channel information type indicates an isochronous back channel control mechanism for providing a flow control and retransmission control instruction;
• and
• c. setting an isochronous channel number field within the back channel flow control information block to indicate the isochronous channel used to send an isochronous back channel packet, wherein the isochronous back channel packet includes the control instruction which is used to regulate a transmission of a stream of isochronous data packets.

An apparatus for communicating flow control and retransmission information comprising:

• a. a configuring circuit to configure a plug to communicate an isochronous back channel packet over an isochronous back channel;
• b. a packetizing circuit to packetize flow control and retransmission information within the isochronous back channel packet;
• c. a transceiver circuit configured to communicate the isochronous back channel packet via the plug;
• d. a de-packetizing circuit to extract the flow control and retransmission information from the isochronous back channel packet;
• and
• e. a controller coupled to the configuring circuit, the packetizing circuit, the transceiver circuit, and the de-packetizing circuit to determine a control instruction and a stream of isochronous data packets to which the control instruction is applied from the flow control and retransmission information and apply the control instruction to the determined stream of isochronous data packets.

An apparatus for communicating flow control and retransmission information comprising:

• a. means for configuring a plug to communicate an isochronous back channel packet over an isochronous back channel;
• b. means for packetizing flow control and retransmission information within the isochronous back channel packet;
• c. means for communicating the isochronous back channel packet via the plug;
• d. means for extracting the flow control and retransmission information from the isochronous back channel packet;
• and
• e. means for controlling coupled to the means for configuring, the means for packetizing, the means for communicating, and the means for de-packetizing,
• wherein the means for controlling determines a control instruction and a stream of isochronous data packets to which the control instruction is applied from the flow control and retransmission information and applies the control instruction to the determined stream of isochronous data packets.