Abstract: In an exemplary method implementation, a method includes: receiving a packet requesting a new connection at a forwarding component; sending the packet from the forwarding component to a classifying component; selecting, by the classifying component, a route for the new connection; and plumbing, by the classifying component, the route for the new connection by causing a new entry to be added in a local routing table of the forwarding component. In an exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, enable a system to perform actions including: receiving a first packet for a connection at first forwarding functionality; plumbing a route for the connection at the first forwarding functionality; receiving a second packet for the connection at second forwarding functionality; and plumbing the route for the connection at the second forwarding functionality using a distributed session tracking table.

Abstract: In a first exemplary implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a system to perform actions including: receiving host status information from multiple hosts; and making load balancing decisions responsive to the received host status information. In a second exemplary implementation, a system includes: session tracking infrastructure that is adapted to acquire session information; and load balancing infrastructure that is adapted to utilize the session information when routing connection requests to multiple hosts.

Abstract: In a first exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a system to perform actions that include: accumulating host status information at multiple hosts; and sending the accumulated host status information from the multiple hosts. In a second exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, direct a system to perform actions that include: receiving host status information from multiple hosts; and making load balancing decisions responsive to the received host status information.

Abstract: In an exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, enable a system to facilitate actions including: operating network load balancing infrastructure in a first configuration; scaling out the network load balancing infrastructure; and operating the scaled-out network load balancing infrastructure in a second configuration. In another exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions that, when executed, enable a system to be configured such that different percentages of system resources may be allocated to different network-load-balancing functions. In yet another exemplary media implementation, one or more processor-accessible media include processor-executable instructions for network load balancing that, when executed, enable a system to gradually increase a percentage of total computing resources that is devoted to the network load balancing.

Abstract: The invention provides quality-of-service (QoS) delivery services over a computer bus having isochronous data transfer capabilities. A transmitting node on the bus transmits a message to an intended recipient indicating a requested bandwidth for a connection. If the intended recipient has sufficient resources, it allocates an isochronous data channel on the bus and notifies the transmitter of the allocated channel. Thereafter, the transmitter transmits the data on the allocated channel. If the recipient cannot allocate a channel, it does not respond, and the transmitter thereafter detects a time-out condition and begins transmitting using a “best efforts” scheme (i.e., non-guaranteed time delivery). In a second variation, a receiving node detects that it is receiving large quantities of data from a transmitting node. In response, the receiving node allocates an isochronous data channel on the bus and notifies the transmitter of the allocated channel.

Abstract: A method and apparatus provides a method and apparatus for treating a serial bus, such as an IEEE 1394 bus, as a connection-oriented network. In one embodiment, an application programming interface (API) permits different protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, IPX, and others) to connect to the 1394 bus and to make use of various 1394 features, such as isochronous packet transmission, without knowledge of hardware-specific idiosyncrasies. A call is made to set up a connection (a “virtual circuit”) over the serial bus, and, thereafter, a connection “handle” is used to communicate over the bus using the connection. Different types of connections can be provided, including a node-specific connection; a channel-specific connection; and a receiving connection (e.g., for incoming data). In one embodiment, a programming interface hides details of the connection set-up, and includes packet fragmentation and reassembly functions.

Abstract: A custom palette comprises colors on a plurality of luminance levels consisting of colors of uniform luminance. The spacing in luminance between levels varies in relation to the luminance, the spacing between levels being closer at low luminance and increasing at greater luminance. The palette preferably includes a gray color from each luminance level, highly saturated colors at the vertices of every alternate level, and a selection of lower saturation colors encircling the gray color on each level. The selection of lower saturation colors preferably includes a higher concentration of flesh and sky colors.

Abstract: The invention allows applications to transparently use a bus, such as the IEEE-1394 serial bus, as if it were an Ethernet (IEEE 802.3). In a conventional Ethernet, each node is assigned a unique 6-byte MAC address in order to receive frames addressed to it over the LAN. According to the invention, IEEE-1394 bus node identifiers are mapped to Ethernet MAC addresses using for example a digital signature algorithm. Ethernet frames are then “wrapped” into 1394 bus packets and addressed to the destination node using the hashed address. The receiver unwraps the 1394 packet and restores the Ethernet frame to its original form. An optimum packet size for transmission of Ethernet packets over the 1394 bus is selected with reference to speed topology maps in the 1394 bus nodes, and this optimum size is transmitted to bus nodes. This packet size is reported to TCP to specify the packet size, and all packets larger than that size are fragmented and reassembled at the receiving node.

Abstract: A high color resolution image is accurately approximated with a low resolution image through a unique combination of ordered dithering and error diffusion. The true color of each pixel is modified with error from previously rendered pixels and then dithered to an intermediate color of 15 bits. The intermediate color is then mapped to the nearest displayable color in a displayable color palette using a precomputed look-up table. Any error between a displayed color of a pixel and its true color is calculated and spread among neighboring pixels not yet rendered.

Abstract: A high color resolution image is accurately approximated with a low resolution image through ordered dithering to colors of a displayable color palette. The colors of the displayable color palette are located at points of a grid aligned with three orthogonal axes in a three dimensional color model, including a luminance axis between black and white. The grid points are defined by the intersections of three sets of parallel planes, each set being perpendicular to one of the three axes. The set of planes perpendicular to the luminance axis are spaced nonuniformly, preferably according to a cubic model. The ordered dithering maps the true color of a pixel in the image to the color in the displayable palette at one of eight adjacent grid points. When ordered dithering of a pixel's true color would map the true color to a grid point outside the color gamut, the pixel is instead mapped to the nearest color on the color gamut's border to the grid point.

Abstract: A custom palette comprises colors on a plurality of luminance levels consisting of colors of uniform luminance. The spacing in luminance between levels varies in relation to the luminance, the spacing between levels being closer at low luminance and increasing at greater luminance. The palette preferably includes a gray color from each luminance level, highly saturated colors at the vertices of every alternate level, and a selection of lower saturation colors encircling the gray color on each level. The selection of lower saturation colors preferably includes a higher concentration of flesh and sky colors.

Abstract: A high color resolution image is rendered using a palette having a lower color resolution. The color of each pixel in the image is mapped to the nearest of the palette colors located on or between levels of uniform luminance adjacent to the pixel color. The mapping of the pixel color is further constrained to exclude palette colors for which double the error to the pixel color is outside the color gamut. The mapping is performed efficiently by a look-up table, the size of which is reduced by first dithering the pixel color to a color in an intermediate palette and then indexing the table using the intermediate palette color to find the reduced palette color.