Network Adapter TDM Scheduling for Reachable Time-Slot Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Network endpoints in communication systems governed by Time-Division Multiplexing (TDM) schedules are often unaware of the TDM schedule, making it difficult to transmit packets during reachable time-slots, leading to inefficiencies and potential failures.
Innovation Solution
A network adapter with a scheduler that synchronizes to the TDM schedule, queues packets accordingly, and transmits them during reachable time-slots, ensuring successful communication without requiring endpoints to be aware of the TDM schedule.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If network endpoints transmit packets without awareness of the TDM schedule, then the system is easier to operate and deploy, but packet transmission reliability deteriorates due to potential transmission during unreachable time-slots
Solution Approach 1:
The network adapter acts as an intermediary between the unaware network endpoint and the TDM-governed network. It intercepts packets from the endpoint, consults the TDM schedule to determine reachable time-slots for the destination, and schedules transmission accordingly. This mediator approach allows endpoints to remain simple and unaware while ensuring reliable TDM-compliant transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The network adapter performs preliminary actions by pre-fetching the TDM schedule and pre-determining reachable time-slots for each destination before actual packet transmission. This advance preparation enables the adapter to immediately schedule incoming packets during appropriate time-slots without requiring endpoint awareness or complex real-time decisions at the endpoint.
2Reliability
If the network adapter implements TDM schedule awareness and scheduling, then packet transmission reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts TDM schedule awareness and scheduling functionality from the network endpoint and concentrates it in the network adapter. This extraction allows the endpoint to remain simple while the adapter handles all TDM-related complexity, including schedule storage, time-slot determination, and transmission scheduling.
Solution Approach 2:
The network adapter performs self-service by autonomously managing TDM schedule interpretation and packet scheduling without requiring complex coordination with endpoints. It independently determines reachable time-slots, queues packets appropriately, and executes transmissions, reducing overall system complexity despite increased adapter functionality.
3Reliability
If packets are queued and scheduled according to TDM time-slots, then transmission reliability improves, but transmission delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network adapter performs preliminary actions by pre-fetching the TDM schedule and pre-identifying reachable time-slots for each destination before packets arrive. This advance preparation minimizes waiting time when packets need scheduling, as the adapter can immediately determine appropriate time-slots rather than calculating them in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The scheduling system dynamically adapts to packet arrival patterns and TDM schedule constraints. The adapter maintains flexibility in selecting among multiple reachable time-slots for a given destination, choosing optimal slots that minimize delay while ensuring reliable delivery. This dynamic approach balances reliability requirements with delay optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A network adapter includes a host interface and a scheduler. The host interface is configured to receive, from one or more hosts, packets for transmission to respective destinations over a network. The scheduler is configured to synchronize to a time-division schedule that is employed in the network, the time-division schedule specifying (i) multiple e time-slots and (ii) multiple respective groups of the destinations that are reachable during the time-slots, and, based on the time-division schedule, to schedule transmission times of the packets to the network on time-slots during which the respective destinations of the packets are reachable.