Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Transmit request management in a distributed shared storage system |
| Document Number: |
20070136484 |
| Publication Date: |
June 14, 2007 |
| Appl. No: |
11/524999 |
| Application Filed: |
September 21, 2006 |
| Abstract: |
If a distributed shared storage system is used to provide high bandwidth real-time media data that is shared by a large number of users, several complexities arise. In such an application, the high bandwidth real-time media data is distributed among multiple storage devices or servers. Multiple client applications or machines may access the data. To access the data, clients and servers communicate among themselves using short control messages that contain queries and responses, and using longer data messages that contain media data. To reduce this variability in latency, short control messages are posted for transmission immediately, whereas long messages are posted for transmission in a controlled fashion. For example, the number of long messages that may be outstanding at any one time may be limited. Thus, a long message is not posted to the transmit queue if the maximum number of long messages has been reached. A long message may be posted when transmission of an outstanding long message has been completed. In this way, the latency for any short message is limited by the amount of time it takes to send a long message and the number of long messages that are permitted to be outstanding at any one time. |
| Inventors: |
Kuninsky, Mitch (Woburn, MA, US) |
| Claim: |
1. A system for transmitting messages over a network between a client computer and one or more server computers using a protocol involving short control messages for communicating control information and long data messages including media data, comprising: a queue for storing transmit requests for short control messages and long data messages prior to transmission of the messages; and means for managing the queue so as to process short control messages with priority over long data messages. |
| Claim: |
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the queue includes a single queue for transmit requests for both short control messages and long data messages, and wherein the means for managing includes: means for placing transmit requests for short control messages in the queue prior to transmit requests for long data messages. |
| Claim: |
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the queue includes a first queue for short control messages and a second queue for long data messages, and wherein the means for managing including processing any transmit requests in the first queue with priority over any transmit requests in the second queue. |
| Claim: |
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the queue includes a single queue for transmit requests for both short control messages and long data messages, and wherein the means for managing includes: means for receiving transmit requests from one or more applications, wherein transmit requests for short control messages are posted to the single queue and wherein the transmit requests for long data messages are held if a maximum number of outstanding long messages are already posted to the single queue. |
| Current U.S. Class: |
709230/000 |
| Current International Class: |
06 |
| Accession Number: |
edspap.20070136484 |
| Database: |
USPTO Patent Applications |