Patent ID: 7269172

Claim:
A method for storing data packets for transmission over a communication link, the method comprising: providing a data buffer, the buffer including a plurality of memory locations; providing a pointer array containing a plurality of address entries, each for pointing to one of the memory locations in the data buffer; providing a load sequence indicator, a transmit sequence indicator and a retransmit sequence indicator, each indicator indicating one of the pointer array address entries; and loading a first packet into the data buffer at the address contained in the pointer array entry identified by the load sequence indicator, when space is available in the data buffer; wherein the method further includes transmitting a given packet from the data buffer at the address contained in the pointer array entry identified by the transmit sequence indicator, when the transmit sequence indicator does not equal the load sequence indicator and setting the transmit sequence indicator to indicate the pointer array entry immediately following the entry for the transmitted given packet.