Patent ID: 7539140

Claim:
A method for transmitting data packets through a communications network, the packets having a maximum allowable delay (mad), and average packet rate (apr) and an average packet size (aps), the method comprising: aggregating a plurality of data packets in a node of the network into a burst, the burst having an average number of packets; and transmitting the burst with a link speed (ls) into the network via at least one switch having a number of channels (noc), a switching time (ts) and a given burst blocking probability (bbp), wherein the average number of packets per burst (ppb) is between an upper and a lower limit, wherein the upper limit (ppb u ) is calculated with the formula: 80%(1+2· mad·apr )≦ ppb u ≦120%(1+2· mad·apr ), and wherein the lower limit (ppb l ) is calculated with the formula: 80 ⁢ % · t s E noc - 1 ⁡ ( bbp ) apr - aps ls ≤ ppb l ≤ 120 ⁢ % · t s E noc - 1 ⁡ ( bbp ) apr - aps ls where E noc −1 is an inverse Erlang B formula for the noc.