Patent ID: 7944895

Claim:
In a first node which is one of a plurality of nodes of a time division multiplexed network, wherein a bitstream divided into frames is propagating in said time division multiplexed network, wherein a recurrent frame of said frames is divided into time slots, and wherein circuit-switched channels are respectively allocated a set of time slots in said recurrent frame, each set of time slots comprising at least one time slot, a method for allocating time slots to channels in the network, the method comprising: associating, with a selected level of priority, a set of time slots allocated to a circuit-switched first channel, the selected level of priority being one of at least two available levels of priority; receiving at the first node, from a requester being one of an end user and another node, a request for time slots in said recurrent frame for a circuit-switched second channel; checking, at the first node, for available time slots, comprising checking for free time slots, and, if the number of free time slots is to low, checking for deallocatable time slots; wherein said checking for deallocatable time slots comprises: determining whether or not there are deallocatable time slots on said circuit-switched first channel, based upon a comparison of said selected level of priority and a level of priority associated with the request for time slots for the circuit-switched second channel; if the number of available time slots is sufficient, and the first node is an intermediate node, then: pre-reserving said available time slots; forwarding the request to a next node; and upon receiving a confirmation from the next node, allocating said pre-reserved available time slots, and sending a confirmation to the requester; and if the number of available time slots is sufficient, and the first node is a destination node, then allocating the requested number of slots and sending a confirmation to the requester.