Patent ID: 6112323
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
In a network comprising a sending system networked together with at least one receiving system where data messages comprising a plurality of transmission packets are transmitted between the sending system and at least one receiving system, and where receiving systems that do not receive at least one transmission packet send negative acknowledgments to the sending system requesting retransmission of the missing transmission packets, a method for transmitting negative acknowledgments from the receiving systems to the sending system in a manner that does not create a flood of negative acknowledgments that can adversely affect the performance of the network, comprising the steps of:waiting, at a receiving system, for a triggering event comprising at least one of either receipt of a transmission packet or expiration of a negative acknowledgment wait timer;upon the triggering event of receipt of a transmission packet, then performing at least the steps of:examining the received transmission packet to determine if one or more previous transmission packets have been missed;if one or more previous transmission packets have been missed, then 1) selecting a negative acknowledgment wait time according to a defined probability density function that results in relatively few shorter wait times and relatively many longer wait times, and 2) setting a negative acknowledgment wait timer for the message associated with the transmission packet using the selected negative acknowledgment wait time; and upon the triggering event of expiration of a negative acknowledgment wait timer, then sending a negative acknowledgment to the sender system.