Patent ID: 6405258
Filing Date: 2002-06-11
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method of regulating the flow of data between plural network stations through a network switch, the method comprising the steps:setting respective threshold values that indicate a saturation level for the internal resources of each transmit port of the switch, said setting of respective threshold values includes setting a first threshold value for a low priority portion of an output queue, and setting a second threshold value for a high priority portion of the output queue; receiving, by a receive port of the switch, a data frame destined to a transmit port, the data frame being received from a first of the plural network stations; determining if the internal resources of the transmit port have reached the threshold value for that transmit port; and selectively transmitting a PAUSE frame that specifies a pause interval value if the internal resources of that transmit port have reached the threshold value, the PAUSE frame causing the first network station to discontinue transmission of data frames to that transmit port for the duration of the pause interval value.