Abstract: The present invention provides an auto-cancelling buffer and method that ensures that time sensitive control messages such as congestion alarms and recovery messages are efficiently moved between control processes. In a general embodiment, one or more time sensitive control messages are stored in a special buffer. A current control message indicating a first state is compared with a previously buffered control message. If the buffered control message is in a second different state, e.g., opposite the first state, the buffered control message is removed from the buffer, and both messages are discarded. In effect, opposing control messages are cancelled rather than both stored in the buffer. This avoids unnecessary cycling of an end process which acts on control messages forwarded from the buffer.

Abstract: A memory system and management method for optimized dynamic memory allocation are disclosed. A memory manager requests a large area of memory from an operating system, and from the viewpoint of the operating system, that memory is fixed. That fixed memory area is then divided up into an integral number of classes, e.g. by the memory manager. Each memory class includes same-size blocks of memory linked together by pointers. The memory block sizes are different for each class, and the sizes of the different class memory blocks are selected to conform to the CPU and memory access bus hardware (e.g. align with a bus bit width) as well as to accommodate the various sizes of data expected to be processed for a particular application. The memory manager maintains a separate, linked list of unused blocks for each class. Each memory block is zeroed initially and after release by a process previously assigned to it. When a block of memory is assigned to a particular process, a flag is set to indicate that it is in use.

Abstract: Message congestion and prioritization are effectively managed using a flexible approach that is easily implemented and configurable for different communications applications. A plurality of buffers are provided at a communications point with different buffers corresponding to different message priorities. The buffers may be, for example, first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffers. Messages to be transmitted from the communications point are processed to determine the priority of each message. Each message is stored in one of the plurality of buffers corresponding to its determined priority. Messages are transmitted starting from the highest priority buffer, continuing to the next priority buffer, and so forth. Each buffer includes a configurable size, congestion level, full level, and recovery level which are used to effectively manage transmission of messages in congested situations and to ensure that priority messages receive priority transmission.