Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for allocating bandwidth and reducing jitter in an upstream transmission in a shared-media packet-switched access network with multiple upstream channels offering integrated Internet Protocol voice and high-speed data services. To allow multiple simultaneous CBR (constant-bit-rate) voice connections to be supported by a cable modem, when only a single channel can be accessed at a time, a method to select an upstream channel and assign to each connection a time slot in the upstream channel is provided. Jitter, i.e. packet delay variation, results when packets associated with a voice connection are not received at expected intervals. To maintain jitter within predetermined tolerances, the sequence of mini-slots in an upstream channel is divided into frames. Each frame will have a sequence of voice and data-only regions, and the voice region is divided into non-overlapping jitter windows of generally equal length.

Abstract: A method for assembling a motor shaft with a bearing, a motor housing, and an impeller is disclosed. A motor shaft extension is used to retain the impeller axially on the motor shaft and allows the motor shaft to drive an additional component, such as an impeller, located a distance from the motor. The motor shaft extension may be fabricated from aluminum or hardened steel. Additionally, the motor shaft extension may be embodied in a tube extending past the end of the motor shaft and a shaft extension pressed into the end of the tube.

Abstract: An improved call center architecture includes a switch which communicates with agents either over a broadband network or through a conventional legacy PBX. The hybrid configuration also includes N+1 fault tolerance and the ability to linearly expand the capacity of the system by simply adding new switching chassis.

Abstract: A packet switch includes (a) a plurality of inputs into each of which a packet is input, (b) a switch which receives the packet from the input and switches an output through which the packet is transmitted, and (c) a scheduler which controls the switch. The scheduler (103) includes (c1) a shuffler (201) which shuffles an order of precedence in a first request transmitted from the input to transfer the packet, (c2) a schedule algorithm (202) which determines the output, based on the first request having the order of precedence having been shuffled by the shuffler, and produces a second request to transfer a packet which second request is associated with the first request having the order of precedence having been shuffled by the shuffler, and (c3) a re-shuffler (203) which turns an order of precedence of the second request to be identical with the order of precedence in the first request as found before having been shuffled by the shuffler, and returns the thus turned order of precedence back to the input.

Abstract: There is provided, in a first form, a system and method for the holistic presentation of multiple media queue depths, which allows the customer to decide what media channel they want to use to make a call based on resource availability across multiple media. Further, this embodiment allows the call center to “cost” media channel services based on their business rules, salaries, calculated return on relationship, cost of different services, etc.

Abstract: Telephone conversations carried over an internet protocol network or other asynchronous network can be monitored for quality and rerouted if the error rate of data transmission through the network exceeds some predetermined threshold value. One or more counters in a switching system along a pathway records the occurrence of missing, delayed, or out of sequence cells or data packets over time. At some predetermined threshold value, considered to be an excessive error rate, the switching system can be used to trigger a rerouting of the telephone call or subsequent calls to pathways with better error rates and therefore better transmission quality.

Abstract: In a message processing system, a plurality of vehicles or other locations are equipped with message processing devices and transmit and receive a message. The message has a header and a body. The header includes a valid duration and/or a valid zone specified by various methods, and an optional flag set when the message reaches the valid zone. The body includes data to be transmitted and read out for predetermined processing. When receiving the message, the message processing device may transfer the message if the message is within the valid duration and the device is within the valid zone, or if the message is within the duration and the device is not within the valid zone but the flag is not set. When transmitting a message, the message processing device sets the valid duration and/or zone and may include the flag for the message header, and generates the data to be transmitted for the message body.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus, system and method of increasing port availability for a communication switch. First, second and third M port crossbars are arranged to provide a crossbar with a increased number of ports available for the communication switch. K ports of a first M port crossbar are individually coupled to K ports of a second and a third M port crossbar via interconnect buses. Further, K ports of the second and third M port crossbars are individually coupled via interconnect buses resulting in L available ports on each the M port crossbars in which M>L>K.

Abstract: Methods and systems for processing data packets enable a communication device having limited memory to participate in network protocols. One communicating device formats packets in accordance with the specifications of one or two or more communication protocols, with one or more additional constraints, and transmits it to an other communication device. The other communication device performs a specified processing of the received packet to generate a reply packet in response to the received packet, which conforms to the one of two or more communication protocols, while also satisfying one or more additional formatting constraints.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for low latency loss-free burst switching. Burst schedules are initiated by controllers of bufferless core nodes and distributed to respective edge nodes. In a composite-star network, the burst schedules are initiated by any of a plurality of bufferless core nodes and distributed to respective edge nodes. Burst formation takes place at source nodes and a burst size is determined according to an allocated bitrate of a burst stream to which the burst belongs. An allocated bitrate of a burst stream may be modified according to observed usage of scheduled bursts of a burst stream. A method of control-burst exchange between each of a plurality of edge nodes and each of a plurality of bufferless core nodes enables burst scheduling, time coordination, and loss-free burst switching. Both the payload bursts and control bursts are carried by optical channels connecting the edge nodes and the core nodes.

Abstract: A signal router routes N inputs to M outputs. All inputs signals are ultimately applied to a data buss by spreading across multiple buss lines and time multiplexing. The data are read from the buss and written in identical images to K random access memories. The memories are addressed and read according to a different schedule for each of K output signals that are ultimately demultiplexed to M outputs. As each RAM image is read, another RAM image is written and vice versa. Since each RAM image contains the same data, the generation of signals from each RAM to supply each of the respective K output signals can be done at a rate that is substantially more independent of the input, buss, or RAM write operations than prior art techniques permit.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method for dynamically allocating bandwidth under a media access control (MAC) protocol between an optical line termination (OLT) and a group including a plurality of optical network units (ONUs) in an ATM-PON. In order to meet quality of service (QoS) requirement, the dynamic bandwidth allocation method is capable of determining bandwidth to be allocated to each of the ONUs on the basis of information about traffic indicators of connections established to each of the ONUs and about the number of non-real time cells waiting in each of the ONUs, resulting in an enhancement in utilization efficiency of an upstream transmission channel and enabling an effective transmission.

Abstract: The available bandwidth of a communication path between two nodes of a computer network is determined using probe packages that are transmitted between a sender one of the nodes and a receiver one of the nodes at varying transmission rates. Each successive transmission rate of the probe packages is selected according to: (i) an achieved throughput for a transmission of a preceding one of the probe packages, and (ii) a deviation between the achieved throughput for the transmission of the preceding one of the probe packages and a corresponding transmission rate of the preceding one of the probe packages.

Abstract: A communication system, in one embodiment, has set top boxes that the have the ability to monitor the subnet to which they are coupled. A multicast router couples one or more groups, such as groups of video programs, to the set top boxes as requested by the set top boxes. If one set top box leaves a first group, for example, and thus sends a leave message to the router, the other set top box or boxes know to send a join message if they are subscribed to that first group. Thus, the router knows immediately to couple that first group on that subnet.

Abstract: A serial communications architecture for communicating between hosts and data store devices. The Storage Link architecture is specially adapted to support communications between multiple hosts and storage devices via a switching network, such as a storage area network. The Storage Link architecture specifies various communications techniques that can be combined to reduce the overall cost and increase the overall performance of communications. The Storage Link architecture may provide packet ordering based on packet type, dynamic segmentation of packets, asymmetric packet ordering, packet nesting, variable-sized packet headers, and use of out-of-band symbols to transmit control information as described below in more detail. The Storage Link architecture may also specify encoding techniques to optimize transitions and to ensure DC-balance.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for a cache line cut through reduces the latency and memory bandwidth of a data processing system. By cutting through or forwarding a cache line to the next processing element, data that has been read from a local memory into a local cache and altered by a processing element need not be restored to the local memory before it is sent to its destination target processing element. By eliminating the write back to the local memory for direct write through to the destination, performance is increased because the bandwidth and latency are decreased. In a preferred embodiment, the processing elements may be contained within a network processor and the altered data may be a header in one network protocol which needs to be modified to another protocol before transfer of the data along the network. Transfer of the data may be to another network processor, another processing element, or to another memory.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing packet classification in a digital signal processor for policy-based packet routing. For one embodiment, the digital signal processor includes a policy statement table for storing policy statements. Each policy statement has associated with it a priority number that indicates the priority of the policy statement relative to other policy statements. The priority numbers are separately stored in a priority index table. The priority index table includes priority logic that determines the most significant priority number from among the policy statements that match an incoming packet during a classification of filter operation. The priority logic also identifies the location in the priority index table of the most significant priority number. The identified location in the priority index table can be used to access associated route information or other information stored in a route memory array.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for eliminating near-end crosstalk in a communication network are disclosed. Crosstalk generated by communication occurring on a second line is detected on a first line and the phase of the crosstalk detected on the first line is determined. A first signal is communicated on the first line in response to the phase.

Abstract: A spread code allocation method in a CDMA cellular having a first code set including a plurality of first codes and a second code set including one or a plurality of second codes, allocating the second code to the first code set and multiplying the plurality of first codes by the allocated second code to generate a plurality of combined codes, assigning a priority to the combined code for each transmission signal to be transmitted from a base station to a mobile station, allocating the combined code to the transmission signal based on the priority, and diffusing the transmission signal by the allocated combined code to transmit the diffused transmission signal to the mobile station.

Abstract: A system and method of providing flexible QoS actions through communication to neighboring network elements of the local QoS actions taken by the local network element. The neighboring network elements may then take into account the QoS actions taken by the local network element when the neighboring network elements are contemplating their own QoS actions to be taken. Thus, a limited range of visibility of QoS actions facilitates subsequent QoS actions taken by the network elements within the limited range of visibility.