System and method for buffering data received from a network

Abstract

A system for buffering data received from a network comprises a network socket, a plurality of buffers, a buffer pointer pool, receive logic, and packet delivery logic. The buffer pointer pool has a plurality of entries respectively pointing to the buffers. The receive logic is configured to pull an entry from the pool and to perform a bulk read of the network socket. The entry points to one of the buffers, and the receive logic is further configured to store data from the bulk read to the one buffer based on the entry. The packet delivery logic is configured to read, based on the entry, the one buffer and to locate a missing packet sequence in response to a determination, by the packet delivery logic, that the one buffer is storing an incomplete packet sequence. The packet delivery logic is further configured to form a complete packet sequence based on the incomplete packet sequence and the missing packet sequence.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 361,742, entitled “System and Method for Buffering Data Received from a Network,” and filed on Feb. 8, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference.RELATED ART[0002]In some communication systems, such as networked graphical rendering systems, for example, large amounts of data are transmitted from a transmitting unit through a network to at least one receiving unit. For example, a graphics application at a transmitting unit may transmit graphical data to at least one remote receiving unit that renders the graphical data to form a rendered image. In such a system, communication of large amounts of graphical data at a relatively high transmission rate may be needed in order to provide a suitable frame rate for the rendered image.[0003]Performance of a system's transmitting and receiving units in transmitting data to and receiving data from a network is typically an im...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention provides a system and method for buffering data received from a network. The system includes a network socket and receive logic that performs a bulk read of the network socket and stores data into buffers. The system also includes a buffer pointer pool that provides entries pointing to the buffers. The receive logic pulls an entry from the pool and performs a bulk read of the network socket based on the entry. The system also includes a packet delivery logic that reads the buffers and locates incomplete packet sequences. The packet delivery logic then forms a complete packet sequence based on the incomplete packet sequence and the missing packet sequence. The technical effect of the invention is to improve network communication throughput by better utilizing network resources and optimizing data transfer."

Problems solved by technology

Unfortunately, achieving a suitable transmission rate for the data communicated from the transmitting unit to the receiving unit or units can sometimes be problematic, particularly in instances where a large number of receiving units are to receive the graphical data.

Images