Patent ID: 8015313

Claim:
A communication device arranged to transmit a data segment over an interface, the communication device comprising: a processor; a transmission management logic, implemented by the processor, for determining a sequence number of a data segment to be transmitted, wherein the transmission management logic is operable to: compare the sequence number of the data segment to be transmitted with at least one pending sequence number of a previous data segment, and, based on the comparison, discard the data segment to be transmitted in response to the sequence number of the data segment to be transmitted matching the at least one pending sequence number of the previous data segment; and add the sequence number of the data segment to be transmitted to the at least one pending sequence number and transmit the data segment over the interface in response to the sequence number of the data segment to be transmitted not matching the at least one pending sequence number, wherein a plurality of pending sequence numbers is stored as a list of pending sequence numbers within a memory element of the communication device, and the sequence number of the data segment to be transmitted is considered as matching the at least one pending sequence number if the same sequence number is present within the list of pending sequence numbers, and wherein the transmission management logic is operable to remove the sequence number of the data segment for which transmission failed from the list of pending sequence numbers in response to receipt of a transmission failure message for a data segment so as to avoid disrupting a retransmission mechanism.