Patent ID: 6195331
Filing Date: 2001-02-27
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
A method of managing a transmission buffer memory disposed in an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) terminal connected to an ATM network for transmitting and receiving data by way of the ATM network, comprising the steps of:dividing said transmission buffer memory into a plurality of memory areas each for temporarily storing data to be transmitted associated with a request for data transmission;according to information about a plurality of logical connections established between the ATM terminal and other ATM terminals, assigning each of the plurality of memory areas to at least a transmission request source which uses a corresponding one of the plurality of logical connections;in response to a request for data transmission from a transmission request source, determining if there is sufficient free space for a data to be transmitted to be stored in a corresponding memory area of said transmission buffer memory which is assigned to the transmission request source;controlling transfer of the data to be transmitted which is associated with the above data transmission request to the corresponding memory area according to a determination result obtained by the determining step; andgrouping the plurality of logical connections each of which is used by a corresponding transmission request source when it sends a data to another ATM terminal on the ATM network into a plurality of groups, and wherein said dividing step includes equally dividing said transmission buffer memory into a plurality of memory areas by the number of the plurality of groups obtained in said grouping step, and said assigning step includes assigning the plurality of memory areas to the plurality of groups, respectively.