Patent ID: 7180910

Claim:
A method for dynamically allocating bandwidth in an asynchronous transmission mode—passive optical network (ATM-PON) for data exchange between an optical line termination (OLT) and an optical network unit (ONU) group including a plurality of ONUs, the method comprising the steps of: a) setting fixed bandwidth, effective bandwidth, assured bandwidth, maximum bandwidth and dynamic bandwidth as traffic indicators of the connections established to each of the ONUs; b) comparing a sum of fixed bandwidths of all the ONUs with an available link capacity; c) allocating bandwidth to each of the ONUs proportionally to the effective bandwidths of the corresponding ONUs, if the sum of the fixed bandwidths of all the ONUs is larger than the available link capacity; d) allocating bandwidth to the all ONUs by the fixed bandwidths and comparing a sum of maximum bandwidths of all the ONUs with the available link capacity, if the sum of the fixed bandwidths of all the ONUs is not larger than the available link capacity; and e) additionally allocating remaining bandwidth to the ONUs proportionally to the dynamic bandwidths, if the sum of the maximum bandwidths is larger than the available link capacity, and allocating bandwidth to each of the ONUs such that the entire bandwidths to be allocated to each of the ONUs is equal to the maximum bandwidths and equally allocating remaining bandwidth to the ONUs by the same amount, if the sum of the maximum bandwidths is not larger than the available link capacity.