Abstract: A communication system has special Agents in the subscriber terminals which detect the need of applications for data paths with QoS over the access network. The Agents have packet based control channels to a Remote Resource Manager installed outside the network typically as a web server and use the control channels for sending bandwidth allocation requests to the Remote Resource Manager which stores all bandwidth relevant information for a subscriber and delivers bandwidth and QoS class back to the Agents which adjust packet rate and packet QoS class marking accordingly. A Self-Sustaining Scheduler placed in the bottlenecks of the data path guarantees given delay times per QoS class and keeps packet drop rate below given limits if the Remote Resource Manager assigns bandwidth appropriately.

Abstract: Router IP port for an IP router of a IP network system, wherein the router IP port comprises: an encapsulating unit for encapsulating IP data packets received from an IP sub-network to generate Ethernet data packets which are forwarded to an Ethernet unit of said IP router; a decapsulating unit for decapsulating Ethernet data packets received from said Ethernet unit to extract IP data packets to be forwarded; an Egress filter unit for filtering the decapsulated IP data packets extracted by said decapsulating unit in response to a match signal which is generated by an Egress comparison unit which compares a hierarchical destination address prefix of said decapsulated IP data packets logically with configuration data stored in a local memory of said router port.

Abstract: An ATM-port module for an ATM-node having an Ethernet switch includes an ATM-controller; and an Ethernet-switch interface connecting it to the Ethernet switch. The switch has an Ethernet encapsulating-unit for encapsulating ATM cells processes by the ATM-controller into packets for transmission to the switch, and an Ethernet decapsulating-unit for extracting ATM cells from packets received from the switch. The module further includes a segmentation-and-reassembly unit; and a buffering-and-scheduling unit. The buffering-and-scheduling unit provides a processed enlarged-ATM-cell to the encapsulating-unit when an indication flag indicates that an ATM port is a destination port of the enlarged ATM-cell; and a processed enlarged-ATM-cell to the segmentation-and-reassembly unit when an indication flag indicates that an Ethernet port is the enlarged ATM-cell's destination port.

Abstract: Router IP port for an IP router of a IP network system, wherein the router IP port comprises:an encapsulating unit for encapsulating IP data packets received from an IP sub-network to generate Ethernet data packets which are forwarded to an Ethernet unit of said IP router; a decapsulating unit for decapsulating Ethernet data packets received from said Ethernet unit to extract IP data packets to be forwarded; an Egress filter unit for filtering the decapsulated IP data packets extracted by said decapsulating unit in response to a match signal which is generated by an Egress comparison unit which compares a hierarchical destination address prefix of said decapsulated IP data packets logically with configuration data stored in a local memory of said router port.

Abstract: Several sub-switching units are provided in a switching apparatus for routing data packets, which according to the transmission protocol used have protocol packet data in addition to utilizable data in each case. In order to be able to centrally perform the processing work in connection with routing the data packets in a few and particularly in a single sub-switching unit, switching packet data are produced in at least one first sub-switching unit and assigned to the data packets. The switching packet data are analyzed in another second sub-switching unit and used for routing or processing the data packets. In this way, tasks can be centralized on a few and particularly on a single sub-switching unit.

Abstract: An ATM-port module for an ATM-node having an Ethernet switch includes an ATM-controller and an Ethernet-switch interface for connecting the ATM-controller to the Ethernet switch.

Abstract: A method is described, by which sets of values representing various parameters can be allocated to addresses, at which addresses data pertaining to the various value sets can be stored in memory. The method described is characterized in that the allocated addresses are each formed by a concatenation of address components representing the individual values of a given set of values, and the scope of the various address components and/or the order of the various address components in their concatenation can be varied individually as a function of configuration parameters that have an influence on the ranges of values of the parameters.

Abstract: In an apparatus and a method for communication between sending and/or receiving stations and a transfer station, data that are supplied from the sending stations to the transfer station are intended to be carried to receiving stations. The transfer station takes over the data supplied to it and carries the data directly or indirectly to a particular desired receiving station. A quantity of data taken over and/or to be taken over into the transfer station is determined, and the takeover of data from one or more sending stations to the transfer station can be interrupted selectively as a function of the result of determination.

Abstract: A method and an apparatus for adapting a transmission bit rate of each individual one of a plurality of connections to an available bit rate capacity in a data multiplexer operating according to an asynchronous transfer mode includes storage in memory of a total available bit rate for all of the connections. An actual bit rate of all of the connections together is continuously ascertained. A difference between the available bit rate and the actual bit rate is continuously calculated. A number of those connections without underloading is continuously ascertained. A continuous recursive calculation of a current fair share value from the former fair share value, of a number of connections without underloading, and of a difference between the available and the actual bit rate, is performed. The fair share value is written in resource management cells, if the current fair share value is less than the value already contained in the resource management cells.

Abstract: A method and circuit arrangement for transmitting message cells via redundant virtual path pairs of an ATM communication network is provided. Two alternative solutions are employed for the transmission of message cells via virtual path pairs respectively formed of an active path and of an alternate path. A first solution is that the message cells transmitted via the active path and via the alternate path of a path pair are conducted up to the output of the switching network lying at the end of the corresponding path pair. Dependent on the number of message cells arriving via the active path and via the alternate path, a forwarding of the message cells of the active path or of the alternate path occurs proceeding from this point. The second solution is that the message cells of the alternate path are first discarded at the input of the corresponding switching network.

Abstract: For transmitting message cells via virtual path pairs respectively formed of two separate paths (AP, EP), it is provided that a separate, internal cell header for each of the paths of a path pair is placed in front of every accepted message cell at least by a switching network (CCa) located at the beginning of the respective path pair. These internal cell headers have a plurality of header parts corresponding in number to the plurality of switching stages of the respective switching network. Given the appearance of a message cell, the header parts of the internal cell headers that are allocated to one another and that are intended for the respective switching stage are compared to one another by each of the switching stages of the respective switching network (CCa). Based on the criterion of the result of the comparison, the associated message cell is then either forwarded unmodified or is duplicated.

Abstract: A check of the observance of prescribed transmission bit rates in an ATM switching equipment occurs using counter devices (RAM1, ALU) working according to the "leaky bucket" principle. These are individually allocated to virtual connections via the switching equipment (VA). The momentary counter readings of these counter devices are respectively decremented by a variable count value only upon arrival of a message cell of the respective virtual connection. This variable count value is proportional to the time difference between the arrival time of the respective message cell and the arrival time of the message cell of the same virtual connection that immediately preceded it. The transmission bit rates determined for the virtual connections are thereby allocated to defined bit rates classes.

Abstract: For reducing the loss of message packets that are transmitted according to an asynchronous transfer mode during the course of virtual connections and which comprise a packet header identifying the respective virtual connection and that are respectively augmented by a sequential auxiliary identifier and that, after multiplication, or transmitted separately via redundant switching matrices of a packet switching equipment, message packets that follow a respective faulty-transmitted message packet are intermediately stored, and that, following the transmission of an error-free message packet which corresponds to the respective faulty-transmitted message packet via a switching matrix that respectively transmits more slowly, the intermediately-stored message packets are forwarded in rapid succession.

Abstract: In order to reduce the loss of message packets that are transmitted in the course of virtual connections in an asynchronous transfer mode and which comprise a packet header identifying the respective virtual connection, the message packets being respectively augmented by a continuous auxiliary identifier and, after multiplication, being separately transmitted via redundant switching matrices of a packet switching equipment, it is provided that, with reference to the auxiliary identifier, only that message packet transmitted without fault as a first of the multiplied message packets and having an auxiliary identifier that is the next one following the most recently-transmitted message packet is forwarded. In addition, that switching matrix by way of which the transmission of message packets respectively occurs most slowly is identified and message packets that are transmitted via the respective slowest switching matrix as the first of the multiplied message packets are forwarded.

Abstract: For the establishment of vertual connections passing through switching matrices of a multi-stage switching system, it is provided that upon the arrival of a call packet requesting the establishment of a virtual connection, a central control device identifies all the switching matrices involved in the connection to be established and determines setup information that must be assigned to each of them in order to establish the connection. This setup information is fed to the individual switching matrices from the central control device in a setup packet along the path of the virtual connection to be established.