Patent ID: 7089320

Claim:
A method for handling data, the method comprising: at a combiner node, establishing a flow between a first node and the combiner node; at the combiner node, receiving data segments from the first node that are destined for a second node; at the combiner node, combining and buffering the received data segments with previously buffered data segments from the first node, if present, until a first condition is met; at the combiner node, sending at least a portion of the combined data segments to the second node when the first condition is met, at the combiner node, receiving data from the second node that is destined for the first node; at the combiner node, splitting the received data into a plurality of segments; and at the combiner node, sending the segments to the first node, wherein the received data segments are combined in the combiner node prior to being sent to the second node and wherein the received data is segmented in the combiner node prior to being sent to the first node so as to reduce processing and/or storage resources consumed by the second node.