Hierarchal scheduler with multiple scheduling lanes

• Main Author: CHARNY ANNA,KAPPLER CHRISTOPHER J.,COHEN EARL T.,OLSEN ROBERT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.06.2007
• Subjects: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THIR OWNENERGY USE; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION

Disclosed is a hierarchy of individual schedulers with multiple scheduling lanes for scheduling items, such as, but not limited to packets or indications thereof, such that different classes of priority items can be propagated through the hierarchy of schedulers accordingly. A pipeline scheduler typically includes a root scheduler and one or more layers of schedulers with each of these layers including at least one scheduler. Each scheduler is configured to maintain items of different scheduling categories received from each of the particular scheduler's immediate children schedulers within the pipeline scheduler if any and from each immediate external source coupled to the particular scheduler if any, and to schedule the sending of the items of the different scheduling categories currently maintained to its parent schedule or external scheduler client. The items may correspond to packets, indications of packets, or any other entity.