Patent ID: 8520520

Claim:
A scheduled data packet switching network comprising: a data packet switching network providing a data packet flow path having a guaranteed specified bandwidth at the granularity of a single data packet flow, wherein said data packet switching network transports packet flows using TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) or a TCP-friendly protocol; a schedulable buffer, disposed between a data packet source and a first downstream device in the data packet flow path, and wherein said packet switching network provides a data packet switching network having zero packet drops; wherein said schedulable buffer provides a mapping of TCP's closed loop flow control mechanism to a deterministic flow control network provided by the underlying network to provide the data packet switching network having zero packet drops, wherein said deterministic flow control network has a reserved appointment at each outbound switch in its flow path; and a scheduling agent, responsive to a request to transmit at least one data packet at a scheduled time, for issuing configuration information including at least data packet delivery scheduling information, to at least one said downstream device; and at least one scheduled switch, responsive to received configuration information including at least scheduling information and to received data packets, for forwarding said received data packets according to a precise schedule as dictated by said data packet delivery scheduling information received from said schedule agent.