Patent ID: 6947394

Claim:
In a communication system, a method of implementing a flexible link-layer protocol that enables transmission of date between a link-layer transmitting peer entity and a link-layer receiving peer entity, wherein the transmitting peer entity transmits a plurality of packet data units (PDUs) to the receiving peer entity, said method comprising the steps of: determining by the transmitting peer entity, a first configurable set of rules governing whether the transmitting peer entity should send polling requests to the receiving peer entity, and if so, how and/or how often the polling requests should be sent; upon determining that the transmitting peer entity should send polling requests to the receiving peer entity, sending polling requests from the transmitting peer entity to the receiving peer entity in accordance with the first configurable set of rules; determining by the receiving peer entity, a second configurable set of rules governing whether the receiving peer entity should send status reports to the transmitting peer entity in response to receiving one or more polling requests, and if so, how and/or how often the status reports should be sent; and upon determining that the receiving peer entity should send status reports to the transmitting peer entity, sending status reports from the receiving peer entity to the transmitting peer entity in accordance with the second configurable set of rules; wherein the first and second sets of rules are configurable and combinable to change whether the transmitting peer entity should send polling requests, and if so, how and/or how often the transmitting peer entity should send the polling requests, and whether the receiving peer entity should send status reports, and if so, how and/or how often the receiving peer entity should send the status reports.