초록 ▼

A technique maintains priority of packets transmitted over a heterogeneous network by a hybrid node coupled to the network. The hybrid node assigns each packet a transmission priority (TP) level as it traverses protocol layers of a communications stack of the node. An application programming interfa

A technique maintains priority of packets transmitted over a heterogeneous network by a hybrid node coupled to the network. The hybrid node assigns each packet a transmission priority (TP) level as it traverses protocol layers of a communications stack of the node. An application programming interface extension provides a tagging mechanism for conveying the TP levels from higher protocol layers of the stack to lower layers. The TP levels are then converted to information that is "tagged" to the packets and these tagged packets are then apportioned among a plurality of communication sessions based on the TP level assigned to each packet. The tagged packets and their associated sessions preserve the priority and order of the packets across the heterogeneous network.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for maintaining priority of packets transmitted over a plurality of communication sessions of a first network in a heterogeneous network by a hybrid node coupled to a switching node by the first network, the method comprising the steps of:assigning each packet a

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for maintaining priority of packets transmitted over a plurality of communication sessions of a first network in a heterogeneous network by a hybrid node coupled to a switching node by the first network, the method comprising the steps of:assigning each packet a respective transmission priority (TP) level at an Advanced Peer to Peer Networking (APPN) layer as each packet traverses protocol layers of a communications stack of the hybrid node, said packets being received by the hybrid node from a second network in the heterogeneous network, said packets being associated with a particular connection for transmission of said packets in said second network;apportioning the packets among the plurality of communication sessions at a Data Link Switching (DLSw) layer coupled to the APPN layer based on the respective TP level assigned to each packet; andtransmitting the packets over the communication sessions based upon said apportioning so as to preserve the priority and order of the packets across the heterogeneous network.