Patent ID: 9166902
Filing Date: 2015-10-20
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: in a multicast networking device having a plurality of output ports, generating a hierarchical packet scheduling tree for a first port from a transmission queue for the first port, wherein the hierarchical packet scheduling tree has a plurality of levels each with one or more entries; sequentially searching the hierarchical scheduling tree from a higher level to a lower level to determine a packet pointer to a first packet in the transmission queue of the first port by determining that an entry in a highest level of the hierarchical packet scheduling tree has a binary bit value of one of one or zero, wherein the binary bit value of the one of one or zero indicates at least one packet is in the transmission queue to be sent by the first port, and sequentially searching any additional levels of the hierarchical packet scheduling tree to determine a bit position for the first packet; obtaining, based on the packet pointer, packet data for the first packet; and transmitting the first packet comprising the packet data to a destination device via the first port.