Patent ID: 7920569
Filing Date: 2011-04-05
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: sending, from a network device, a first packet to a downstream device, where the first packet is associated with a first transport protocol; receiving information from the downstream device, where the information includes one or more communication performance statistics associated with the first packet sent to the downstream device by the network device; updating, in a table that includes a plurality of records associating communication performance statistics with transport protocols, a particular record that associates communication performance statistics with the first transport protocol; receiving a second packet at the network device; retrieving, from the table, by using information in a header of the second packet as a key, records that include communication performance statistics associated with a plurality of transport protocols, where the retrieving is based on at least one of: identifying a second particular record, from the retrieved records, that is associated with a second transport protocol that is different from the first transport protocol, where the second particular record indicates that the second transport protocol is associated with communication performance statistics that are preferred over the communication performance statistics associated with the first transport protocol; selecting, based on the records, the second transport protocol; and sending the second packet in accordance with the selected second transport protocol from the network device to the downstream device.