Bonded Link Error Propagation for Buffer Reduction

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Solution Overview

Problem

Communication systems face challenges in managing differential delays among bonded physical links, which require significant buffering due to variations in transmission speeds and retransmissions caused by errors, leading to increased buffer sizes.

Innovation Solution

The system propagates errors detected on one physical link to other bonded links, causing retransmissions and introducing delays across all links, thereby reducing the overall differential delay and minimizing the required buffer size.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If retransmission is used to correct errors on physical links, then reliability is improved, but differential delay increases requiring larger buffers

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror correctionVSAvoiddifferential delay
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by proactively causing retransmissions on all bonded links when an error is detected on any single link, before the differential delay can accumulate to require large buffers. This preventive approach ensures that all links experience similar delay characteristics, reducing the buffer size needed at the receiver.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If bonding is used to increase bandwidth, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple physical links

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovebandwidthVSAvoidmultiple physical links
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the error handling operations across multiple physical links by causing retransmissions on all links when an error is detected on any single link. This unified approach simplifies the management of differential delays in bonded link configurations, reducing the complexity of coordinating error corrections across multiple links.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Speed

If faster physical links transmit data without waiting for slower links, then speed is improved, but buffer size must increase to accommodate fragment reassembly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransmission speedVSAvoidbuffer size
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSVolume of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary error propagation to all bonded links before data transmission completes, ensuring that all links experience similar retransmission delays. This prevents the scenario where faster links finish transmitting and waiting for slower links, thereby reducing the buffer size needed for fragment reassembly while maintaining high transmission speeds.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3340514B1Communication system and methods
Publication Date: 2021.05.12 MAXLINEAR ASIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD
  • EP3340514B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3340514B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3340514B1 patent drawingFigure 5~6

AI summary

Communication devices, systems and methods are provided in which, when an error causing retransmission is detected in one of a plurality of physical links, a delay is caused in at least one further physical link of the plurality of bonded links.