Abstract: A multi-resource system dynamically allocates its resources amongst multiple task streams to provide quality of service guarantees to the task streams. A quality of service manager maintains quality of service requirement information for a plurality of task streams, and requests processing of received tasks. An arbitrator assigns tasks streams and their tasks amongst various servers providing access to resources. The assignment is such that the total quality of service guarantees of the task streams assigned to each server does not exceed the total availability or capacity of the resource. When all assigned tasks for a server are blocked, the server notifies the arbitrator, which transfers an unblocked task to it. When a blocked task unblocks on a server handling a transferred task, the arbitrator transfers back the previously transferred task to its originating server.

Abstract: Methods for retiming and realigning SONET signals include demultiplexing STS-1 signals from an STS-3 signal, buffering each of the three signals in a FIFO, determining the FIFO depth over time, determining a pointer leak rate based in part on FIFO depth and also based on the rate of received pointer movements. For a 28-byte deep FIFO, if the depth of a FIFO is 12-16 bytes, no pointer leaking is performed. If the depth is 0-4 bytes, an immediate positive leak is performed. If the depth is 24-28, an immediate negative leak is performed. If the depth is 5-11 bytes a calculated positive leak is performed. If the depth is 17-23 bytes, a calculated negative leak is performed. The calculated leak rates are based on the net number of pointer movements (magnitude of positive and negative movements summed) received every 32 seconds (256,000 frames).

Abstract: The excessive bit error rate detection algorithm operates in two modes: BURST mode and non-BURST mode. In non-BURST mode, an alarm state is entered if an error count exceeds a threshold within a set number of frames and exits the alarm state when the error count stays below a threshold for a set number of frames. In the BURST mode, the alarm state is not entered unless the error count exceeds the threshold two consecutive times and does not exit the alarm state unless the error rate remains below a threshold for two consecutive frame counts.

Abstract: Methods for retiming and realigning SONET signals include demultiplexing STS-1 signals from an STS-3 signal, buffering each of the three signals in a FIFO, determining the FIFO depth over time, determining a pointer leak rate based in part on FIFO depth and also based on the rate of received pointer movements. For a 28-byte deep FIFO, if the depth of a FIFO is 12-16 bytes, no pointer leaking is performed. If the depth is 0-4 bytes, an immediate positive leak is performed. If the depth is 24-28, an immediate negative leak is performed. If the depth is 5-11 bytes a calculated positive leak is performed. If the depth is 17-23 bytes, a calculated negative leak is performed. The calculated leak rates are based on the net number of pointer movements (magnitude of positive and negative movements summed) received every 32 seconds (256,000 frames).

Abstract: A method and apparatus for communicating information in a network is described. A packet for the information is generated at a first network device. The first network device assigns a flow label to the packet. The flow label indicates that the packet is part of a particular sequence of packets. The first network device also assigns a direction to the packet by, for example, setting a bit in the flow label. The packet is then sent to a second network device through at least one intermediate network device. This process is continued for the entire sequence of packets. The intermediate network device actually routes the packets to the second network device. The intermediate network device receives the packets at an input port. A flow label is identified for each packet. The intermediate network device determines whether a flow table has an entry for the flow label. If there is no present entry for the flow label in the flow table, an entry for the flow label is created.