Patent ID: 7227866
Filing Date: 2007-06-05
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for selecting one of a plurality of queues of data packets, for switching to an output port in a current timeslot, for achieving work conserving Round Robin (RR) scheduling, the method comprising the steps of: generating a mask for a given queue for masking all queues outside a consideration range of the given queue; and applying the mask and a queue ready flag for the given queue for determining if the given queue is to be selected for switching to the output port in the current timeslot; wherein the consideration range is a set of queues having priority over the given queue; generating the consideration range for the given queue; setting an Nth bit in said mask for the given queue to 1, if a queue with index N is in the consideration range of the given queue; and setting an Nth bit in said mask for the given queue to 0, if the queue with an index N is outside the consideration range of the said queue; wherein generating the consideration range of the given queue, comprising a step of: assigning a set of queues with indices higher than the index of a queue served in a previous timeslot, but lower than the index of said queue, to the consideration range of said queue; wherein the given queue has a higher index than the index of the queue served in the previous time slot.