Patent ID: 8094558

Claim:
A packet transfer apparatus connected to a first device and a second device, with a network therebetween, comprising: an input unit that receives at least one packet from the first device; a packet storage unit that stores the packet; a packet processing unit that stores the packet in the packet storage unit; a packet checking unit that checks whether the packet comprises a data request packet sent from the first device to the second device; a packet analyzing unit that analyzes an amount of data requested to be transmitted from the second device to the first device, corresponding to the packet which is the data request packet, and wherein said packet analyzing unit sets “0” as an amount of data requested to be transmitted from the second device to the first device corresponding to packets received by the input unit which are determined by the packet checking unit not to be data request packets sent from the first device to the second device, a transfer control unit that controls transfer of the at least one packet on the basis of the analyzed amount of data; and an output unit that sends the packets received by the input unit to the second device, with the packets which are determined not to be data request packets sent from the first device to the second device being sent with the amount of data requested set to “0”, wherein the packet storage unit includes: a bandwidth control packet storage unit for storing the received packet judged by the packet checking unit that includes a data request packet sent from the first device to the second device; and a non-bandwidth control packet storage unit for storing the received packet judged by the packet checking unit that does not include a data request packet sent from the first device to the second device.