Patent ID: 7012905

Claim:
A method of transmitting packets of data in a communication network comprising at least first to third stations, the method comprising the steps of: providing data packets to only the first station and sending a first number of the data packets from the first station to a second station; subsequently providing the data packets to both said first and third station when the second station has at least one predefined parameter with respect to said first and third station; identifying via said second station which of the first number of the data packets are correctly received by the second station from the first station; responsive to a signal from said second station, sending a second number of the data packets from the third station to said second station commencing with a data packet identified in said signal as being required after the last correctly received packet received from the first station, wherein said network comprises a common node connected to said first and third stations and said first station is in communication with a first node and the third station is in communication with a second node; and acknowledge receipt of a data packet at the second station, wherein acknowledgement is forwarded to the common node by one of said first and second nodes and the common node advises the other of the first and second nodes that an acknowledgement has been received.