Shared Token Bucket for Parallel Queuing Traffic Shaping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems face challenges in managing flow control and physical interface shaping across two separate interfaces introduced by hardware implementation of Link Fragmentation and Interleaving (LFI), where software must manage multiple traffic flows as a single flow while designating one flow as unrestricted.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a shared real-time token bucket between high and low priority channels, where data transmission from the low priority channel is only allowed if tokens are available, and data from the high priority channel is transmitted regardless of token availability, ensuring that traffic from both channels combines at a maximum shape rate.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Link Fragmentation and Interleaving is implemented in hardware with separate interfaces for high and low priority traffic, then traffic prioritization and interleaving performance is improved, but flow control and physical interface shaping management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the flow control management of high priority and low priority traffic by linking their token buckets. The high priority token bucket is linked to the low priority token bucket, allowing a single shaping mechanism to control both interfaces collectively, thereby reducing management complexity while maintaining hardware-based prioritization benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The token bucket mechanism serves as an intermediary between the two separate physical interfaces. By sharing a common token bucket, the system mediates flow control decisions for both high and low priority traffic, simplifying the shaping management that would otherwise require separate control mechanisms for each interface
2Productivity
If separate physical interfaces are used for high and low priority traffic in hardware LFI, then transmission performance is improved, but the ability to shape traffic as a single flow is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the shaping control of multiple traffic flows into a single mechanism by linking token buckets. This allows the system to shape traffic from both high and low priority channels as if they were a single flow, while still utilizing separate physical interfaces for optimized transmission performance
3Reliability
If low priority traffic is fragmented into smaller chunks for interleaving, then high priority traffic can be injected more effectively, but flow control becomes more difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the flow control management for fragmented low priority traffic and unfragmented high priority traffic into a single token bucket system. This unified approach simplifies flow control management while maintaining the ability to effectively inject high priority traffic through the fragmentation and interleaving mechanism
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for shaping traffic in a multi-level queuing hierarchy are disclosed. The hierarchy includes a high priority channel and a low priority channel, wherein traffic on the low priority channel is fragmented and interleaved with traffic from the high priority channel and traffic combined from the high priority and low priority channels has a maximum shape rate. The method includes linking a high priority token bucket to a low priority token bucket, transmitting data from the high priority channel, and decrementing the low priority token bucket by an amount corresponding to the data transmitted. Data is transmitted from the low priority channel only if the low priority bucket has available tokens.