US 6,389,496 B1Granted

Bridge including portals with ability to redefine network topology

AssigneeNEC Corporation

InventorJunichi Matsuda

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An initialization of local buses 14a to 14n, a definition of topology and a management of isochronous resources are performed for every local bus. Each of portals 12a to 12n includes an asynchronous packet discriminator 215 which discriminates an asynchronous packet sent by a terminal device and transfers it. The portals 12a to 12n discriminate asynchronous packets sent by terminal devices in order to acquire isochronous resources and secure isochronous resources on different buses. The portals 12a to 12n transfer isochronous packets to different local buses by associating a received isochronous packet with a plug on the bridge bus side and a plug on the local bus side with an isochronous channel on the bus. Thus, the utilization efficiency of bus resource in a serial bus network is improved and a packet sent from a terminal device can be transferred to a different bus.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A bridge comprising a plurality of portals connected to different local buses, said local buses connected to external terminal devices, said bridge further comprises an internal bus for connecting said portals mutually, wherein a particular portal comprises:

topology information memory means for storing a topology information indicative of said local buses to which respective terminal devices are connected;
packet receiving means for receiving at least one asynchronous packet sent from one of said terminal devices through one of said local buses or through said internal bus;
and
packet discrimination means for determining a destination local bus connected to a destination portal on the basis of destination bus information described in said asynchronous transmission packet received by said packet receiving means by referencing the topology information stored in said topology information memory means, sending the asynchronous packet to another portal connected to destination local bus different from that to which said particular portal is connected and sending the asynchronous packet to a particular local bus to which said particular portal is connected when the result of the determination of said packet discrimination means indicates the particular local bus.

1 more element

A bridge comprising at least two portals, each portal connected to a corresponding local bus, each corresponding local bus connected to an external terminal device, said bridge further comprising an internal bus which connects said portals, a particular portal comprising:

a first memory which stores topology information relating to said topology of all of said local busses connected to all of said portals;
a packet receiver which receives at least one asynchronous packet sent from one of said terminal devices through at least one of said internal bus and one of said local buses;
a packet destination detector which detects a destination local bus connected to a destination portal, said packet destination detector detecting said destination local bus based on destination bus information received in said asynchronous packet and based on said topology information;
said packet destination detector sending said asynchronous packet to another portal connected to said destination local bus when said packet destination detector determines that said destination local bus is not connected to said particular portal;
and
said packet destination detector sends said asynchronous packet to a particular local bus connected to said particular portal when said packet destination detector determines that said destination local bus is said particular local bus.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.