Patent ID: 6983334

Claim:
A system for tracking missing packets at a receiving terminal of a network transmission comprising: processing logic; a memory in which incoming packets and a tracking array are stored; means for determining a maximum number N, corresponding to the number of sequentially numbered spaces within said tracking array utilized for tracking said incoming packets; means for receiving an incoming packet and identifying a sequence number, M, of said incoming packet; means, responsive to receipt of a packet with sequence number, M, that is greater than a current maximum number that may be tracked by said tracking array, for compressing spaces within said tracking array in multiples of X, where X is an integer, and N is a multiple of X, to create an array of N group values, wherein each group value indicates whether or not each packet within a particular group of packets assigned to a particular array space was received, wherein a number of packets within said particular group is initially 1 and increases by a factor of X after each compression; and means for setting a value of said particular array space of said tracking array to a first value indicating receipt of all packets within said particular group of packets, wherein said value is set to a second value when all of said packets within said particular group of packets have not been received.