Abstract: A system and method for determining charges for use of network service connections. The network includes nodes which facilitate the transfer of information between source and destination locations. When a connection is established with a node, a billing cell is transmitted to the node over the connection which contains billing and connection information. Data cells are transmitted over the same connection subsequent to the billing cell. A terminate billing cell or conventional means may be used to drop the connection when the connection is no longer needed. The node computes the cost of using the connection based on the billing and connection information copied from the billing cell, and may also consider the connection time and the amount of data transferred over the connection.

Abstract: A method and system is used in a communication network for charging a flat- rate for a customer's Nominal Bit Rate (NBRp) of the network as well as providing a variable actual Nominal Bit Rate (NBRr) suitable for momentarily desired high nominal bit rates requested by the customer. In one embodiment, the network provides a maximum pool size (Smax) which is predefined between a network operator and the customer. In another embodiment, instead of having the maximum pool size, the network provides the variable NBRr by filling the NBR pool progressively as a function of NBRp, a customer's desired Nominal Bit Rate (NBRd), and a constant z, for a period of time. A momentarily much higher NBRr can be provided based on the capacity of the filled NBR pool.

Abstract: A cell format, an accounting device and a method for providing accounting information to a network for determining payment information between operators in the network. The cell format includes a data field including at least a portion of a data signal, a header field attached to the data field, the header field providing control information for processing the cell including a priority level field and an accounting field, wherein the accounting field indicates an entity that is to receive payment for the processing of the cell. The accounting bit is set to a first value to indicate that an entity on the ingress side of the network is to receive payment. The accounting bit is set to a first value to indicate that an entity on the egress side of the network is to receive payment. The entity is an Internet Service Operator. The first value includes a value of one.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for adjustment of TCP sliding window with information about network conditions is disclosed. The present invention obtains information from the network below TCP about the condition of the network and traffic and uses this information to control the transmission of the TCP source without any modifications to the existing TCP sources. The invention includes the steps of receiving feedback information in an acknowledgment packet, receiving a packet having an advertised window field set to an original advertised window size for a sliding window, and modifying the advertised window field to chose the size of the sliding window in response to feedback information received in the acknowledgment packet. The original advertised window size indicates the original size of a sliding window for determining a number of bytes that can be sent before an acknowledgment packet is received. The feedback information further includes a window advertisement.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for implementing buffering in a packet-switched telecommunications network. In the method, incoming data units are received and stored in a logical queue in a buffer (BF) comprising a plurality of memory locations, and data units are read out from the memory location (FML) at the head of the queue at a predetermined rate. In order to eliminate delay variations over desired connections by as simple a method as possible, the traffic is divided into at least two different classes in such a way that (a) the data units of one class are stored in the first free memory location starting from the head of the queue in each case, (b) feed points (FP; FP1 ...

Abstract: A system and method for controlling the cell priority of cells transmitted from a cell source to network destinations across a network connection is provided. Each of the cells transmitted is registered in a measurement buffer upon being output from the cell source. The registered cells in the measurement buffer are discharged at a discharge rate corresponding to the current occupancy level of the measurement buffer. Cell priority values are generated by correlating the current buffer occupancy level to one of a plurality of predetermined buffer occupancy ranges to determine which occupancy range coincides with the current occupancy level. The generated cell priority values are loaded into cells transmitted from the cell source for use by the network connection.

Abstract: A system and method for communicating elements of information between an access node and a core node of a network. An access node includes a user/network interface, and a core network node includes a cell filtering unit. The UNI includes a measuring unit which measures the actual momentary bit rate of a connection between the UNI and the core node. The UNI also includes a priority level computing unit that computes the priority level of each cell using the measured bit rate and an established nominal bit rate (NBR). The value of NBR represents an expected, but not guaranteed, bit rate associated with a particular user or connection. The connection may be a real-time or a non-real-time connection. A scheduling unit of a node accepts or discards an arriving cell based on the occupancy of a real-time buffer and a non-real-time buffer provided at the node. Cells accepted by the scheduling unit are transferred to either the real-time buffer or the non-real-time buffer depending on cell type.

Abstract: A method for managing a buffer in a data network in which buffering is performed impartially for all connections. Data is transferred in frames each made up of a plurality of data cells. The data is buffered in a node point in the network in order to adapt the data network capacity to correspond to the capacity required by the transferable data. In a data overload situation at the buffer (or when the overload limit is about to be exceeded), the number of cells to be buffered and directed to the node point are predeterminately restricted.

Abstract: A system and method for managing elements of information at a network node received from a user access node. An access node includes a user/network interface (UNI), and a core network node includes a cell filtering unit. The UNI includes a measuring unit, which measures the actual momentary bit rate of a connection between the UNI and the core node, and a priority level computing unit, which computes the priority level of each cell using the measured bit rate and an established nominal bit rate (NBR). NBR represents an expected, but not guaranteed, bit rate associated with a particular user or connection. The connection may be a real-time or a non-real-time connection. A scheduling unit of a node accepts or discards an arriving cell based on the occupancy of a real-time buffer and a non-real-time buffer provided at the node.

Abstract: A system and method for regulating the cell transfer rate over a network in response to priority level feedback. The feedback feature provides network connection availability information corresponding to a level of bandwidth available on the network connection to the cell source. The connection availability information is converted into a buffer occupancy level accessible at the cell source. The cell transfer rate is regulated at the network source unit in accordance with the buffer occupancy level, including decreasing the cell transfer rate when the buffer occupancy level rises above a high occupancy threshold of the buffer, and increasing the cell transfer rate when the buffer occupancy level drops below a low occupancy threshold of the buffer.

Abstract: A system and method for charging for usage of a network service connection. The network includes access nodes which provide user access to core nodes of the network. At an access node, the traffic of connections associated with the access node is measured. A nominal bit rate (NBR) associated with the access node is used together with the traffic measurement to compute a priority level at the access node. The value of NBR represents an expected, but not guaranteed, bit rate associated with a particular user or connection. The connection may be a real-time or a non-real-time connection. Information elements, transmitted from the access node to a core network node, are each assigned one of several priority levels, and cells are either accepted or discarded based on priority level and the status of one or more buffers at the core node. A charging schedule, based on a maximum allowed NBR established for the user, accounts for both a fixed or non-fixed monthly fee and a time dependent fee portion.

Abstract: A system and method for managing information transfers over a network through priority level feedback is provided. The feedback feature provides priority level feedback which informs a cell source of a typical priority level which is being accepted by the nodes of the connection rather than being discarded due to connection congestion. The worst-case network load information for a connection is determined by calculating a requisite cell priority necessary to allow cell acceptance at each of the intermediary network nodes on the connection. A record is maintained of the minimum requisite cell priority corresponding to the worst-case network load information for the connection. The worst-case network load information is provided to the cell source, where one of the priority levels is established for cells subsequently output from the cell source in response to the network load information.

Abstract: A system and method for determining the minimum and/or maximum values from a number of sample parameter values utilizes a table of last occurrence (TOLO-table), together with a sliding window or filter, to greatly enhance the speed and efficiency when determining the minimum and/or maximum value from a number of sample parameter values that fall within the sliding window. The TOLO-table typically includes a parameter column for storing entries for each one of a limited number of discrete parameter values, and also includes a time stamp column which provides entries for storing time of receipt data associated with each parameter value defined in the parameter column. Alternatively, an order number column may be employed for storing number order entries corresponding to the order in which the parameter values are received. Every time a parameter value is received, the time stamp or order number entry associated with the parameter value is updated to the current time or order number.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling cell transmission from a network source unit to network destination units across a network connection is provided. A timer is initiated upon transmission of a cell from the network source unit. A timer output value, provided at the timer output, is adjusted to reflect a time lapse measured from the time of initiation of the timer. The timer output value is compared to an expected cell time interval upon transmission of a subsequent cell, to establish a rate variation indicator. The rate variation indicator generally indicates whether the cell transmission rate is increasing or decreasing at a particular time. A cell priority value, derived from the rate variation indicator, is loaded into the subsequent cell for use by the network connection.