Systems and methods for retransmitting packets over a network of communication channels

A method for transmitting packets over a network of communication channels, the method comprising:

• using a network access coordinator to coordinate access of first and second nodes over a coax backbone, the first node comprising a retransmission buffer, wherein access time to the coax backbone is divided into cycles;
• transmitting at least one packet by the first node to the second node during a current cycle and storing by the first node the at least one packet in the retransmission buffer, the at least one packet comprising:
• an indication that retransmission service is applied;
• and
• a length corresponding to the at least one packet;
• and
• if, during a predetermined time period following transmission of the at least one packet, the at least one packet is not received by the second node:
• sending a frame indicating a loss of the at least one packet from the second node to the network access coordinator during a subsequent cycle;
• and
• retrieving the at least one packet from the retransmission buffer by the first node and transmitting the at least one packet from the first node no earlier than two subsequent cycles.

A method for transmitting packets over a network of communication channels, the method comprising:

• transmitting at least one packet from a first node during a current access cycle, the first node comprising a retransmission buffer, and the at least one packet indicating that retransmission service is applied for the at least one packet;
• storing the at least one packet in the retransmission buffer;
• if, during a predetermined time period following transmission of the at least one packet, the at least one packet is not received by a second node, using the first node to receive, during a subsequent access cycle, a frame from the second node that indicates a loss of the at least one packet, said frame being transmitted via network access coordinator;
• and
• retrieving the at least one packet by the first node from the retransmission buffer and transmitting the at least one the packet by the first node no earlier than two subsequent access cycles.

A method for transmitting media access control (MAC) service data units (MSDUs), the method comprising:

• storing a plurality of MSDUs in a memory, wherein each of the plurality of MSDUs is associated with a sequence number;
• transmitting, to a node over a network that is managed by a network access coordinator, a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) that comprises the plurality of MSDUs that are stored in the memory, an indication that retransmission is applied for the plurality of MSDUs, and a first sequence number that comprises a first lowest sequence number of the the plurality of MSDUs that are stored in the memory;
• receiving, from the network access coordinator, a message that indicates that a first MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs was received by the node and that a second MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs was not received by the node, wherein the message comprises a second sequence number that is greater than or equal to the first sequence number;
• removing the first MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs from the memory;
• and
• transmitting the second MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs that is stored in the memory to the node along with a third sequence number that corresponds to the lowest sequence number of the the plurality of MSDUs stored in the memory subsequent to removing the first MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs from the memory.

A method for receiving media access control (MAC) Service data units (MSDUs), the method comprising:

• receiving, from a first node over a network that is managed by a network access coordinator, a media access control (MAC) protocol data unit (MPDU) that comprises a plurality of MSDUs each being associated with a sequence number, an indication that retransmission is applied for the plurality of MSDUs, and a first sequence number comprising a lowest sequence number of at least a portion of the plurality of MSDUs that are stored at the first node;
• determining that a first MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs was received correctly and a second MSDU of the plurality of MSDUs was received incorrectly;
• transmitting a message to the network access coordinator, for transmission by the network access coordinator to the first node, that indicates that the first MSDU was received correctly and that the second MSDU was received incorrectly, wherein the message comprises a second sequence number that is greater than or equal to the first sequence number;
• and
• receiving, from the first node, the second MSDU.