Patent ID: 9025456
Filing Date: 2015-05-05
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for routing data units, the data units being individually routable through a routing network, the method comprising: receiving a reservation request data unit at a receiving node over the routing network and from a sender; receiving at least one speculative data unit associated with the reservation request data unit from the sender at a network routing device, wherein the at least one speculative data unit is communicated from the sender with an indication whether the at least one speculative data unit is speculative, wherefrom the network routing device recognizes and drops said at least one speculative data unit before it reaches the receiving node and before a grant for the reservation request data unit occurs; dropping the at least one speculative data unit at the network routing device in response to the at least one speculative data unit being blocked within the routing network; providing, on behalf of the network routing device to the sender and over the routing network, a negative acknowledgement data unit that indicates the dropping of the at least one speculative data unit; providing, to the sender, a grant data unit indicating a start time; and receiving, after the start time, at least one non-speculative data unit corresponding to the reservation request from the sender; wherein the at least one speculative data unit and the at least one non-speculative data unit are differentiable as indicated by data in or associated with the reservation request data unit transmitted over the routing network, wherein the network routing device is further configured to place the reservation request data unit in a first data queue corresponding to a first virtual channel, to place the at least one speculative data unit in a second data queue corresponding to a second, different virtual channel and to process data units in the first data queue at a higher priority than data units in the second data queue.