Abstract: One aspect of the present invention provides a method and an apparatus for setting the size of a variable buffer. The method in one embodiment includes setting the initial size of the buffer to zero, reading messages into and out of the buffer, and increasing the average depth of the variable buffer, if underflow occurs. In another embodiment, the method includes repeatedly reading messages and increasing the average depth of the buffer if underflow occurs, until the average depth of the buffer converges to a point to produce a substantially low delay in message transmissions while substantially reducing the possibility of future underflows due to packet delay variation.

Abstract: One aspect of the present invention provides a process and a system for emulating a synchronous transport signal across a packet-oriented network. The process includes the steps of receiving a data representative of a synchronous transport signal at each of several channel processors, creating a number of packets, each having a header conforming to the protocol of a packet-oriented network, and transmitting the packets via the packet-oriented network. In addition, the process also includes the steps of storing each of these packets in a set of memory elements associated with each of the channel processors and adjusting timing of the synchronous transport signal based on the packet-count telemetry associated with each of the memory elements.

Abstract: A system and a process for emulating a synchronous time-division-multiplexed (TDM) signal across a packet-oriented network by receiving a synchronous TDM signal, such as a SONET signal, at each of a number of processors, also receiving a number of signals from a time-slot decoder, each signal being associated with a respective processor, and processing the received synchronous TDM signal responsive to the received time-slot-decoder signal. Channel processing includes the storing, by at least one of the processors, the received data in a memory element associated with the at least one of the processors, and creating a packet conforming to a protocol of a packet-oriented network, such as internet protocol, MPLS, and asynchronous transfer mode, using the stored data.

Abstract: A fair multiplexing of synchronous transport signals facilitates emulation of synchronous transport signals, such as SONET signals, across a packet-oriented network. A system and a process include receiving a data representative of a synchronous transport signal at several channel processors, storing the data in a memory element, creating a number of packets conforming to the protocol of a packet-oriented network using the stored data. The system and the process also include storing the packets in a different set of memory elements associated with each of the packet processors, selecting one of the memory elements based on the amount of information stored by each of the memory elements, and transmitting the packets associated with the selected memory element via the packet-oriented network.