Virtual Circuit Network Device Adapting Variable Data Rates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional network interface controllers (NICs) have fixed data transfer rates, which are inflexible and cannot handle traffic at non-predetermined data rates, leading to issues like packet loss and latency, particularly in applications such as video conferencing.
Innovation Solution
A network device with a virtual circuit that establishes virtual ports to receive incoming data streams and selects physical transceiver ports with predetermined fixed data rates, reformating the data streams to match the fixed rate, allowing for flexible handling of data streams with varying rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional NIC with fixed data rate is used, then the device structure is simple and reliable, but it cannot handle traffic at non-predetermined data rates, leading to packet loss and latency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network device into distinct functional modules: a virtual circuit layer that handles data rate adaptation, a switching layer that manages data stream routing, and physical transceiver ports that provide fixed-rate connectivity. This segmentation allows each module to specialize in specific functions, enabling flexible data rate handling while maintaining overall system reliability through modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual circuit as an intermediary layer between the application layer and physical network ports. This virtual circuit acts as a mediator that buffers, formats, and adapts variable-rate data streams to match fixed-rate physical port requirements, thereby resolving the contradiction between data rate flexibility and physical port constraints without requiring complex reconfiguration of the physical layer.
2Productivity
If multiple data streams with varying rates are combined into a single physical port, then resource utilization improves, but the fixed data rate of the physical port causes packet loss when traffic exceeds capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary actions by pre-establishing virtual circuits with defined data rate characteristics before data transmission begins. The system pre-configures buffer allocations, formatting rules, and routing paths for each virtual circuit, enabling smooth handling of variable-rate traffic without real-time decision-making that could cause delays or packet loss during transmission bursts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action through time-division multiplexing mechanisms where the switching layer periodically schedules data from different virtual circuits onto physical ports based on their allocated time slots and data rate requirements. This periodic scheduling ensures that aggregate traffic across multiple virtual circuits does not exceed the fixed capacity of physical ports, maintaining reliability while achieving high resource utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual circuit in a network device reformats one or more incoming data streams at a non-predetermined data rate into an outgoing data stream at a predetermined data rate, thereby allowing multiple data streams with non-predetermined data rates that are less than the predetermined data rate to be combined and output from a single network port.