Packet switching with common time reference over links with dynamically varying delays

摘要

The invention describes a method for transmitting and forwarding packets over a packet switching network wherein the delay between two switches increases, decreases, or changes arbitrarily over time. Packets are being forwarded over each link inside the network in predefined periodic time intervals. The switches of the network maintain a common time reference, which is obtained either from an external source (such as GPS--Global Positioning System) or is generated and distributed internally. The time intervals are arranged with simple periodicity and complex periodicity (like seconds and minutes of a clock). When the delay increases at some point of time, a packet may be late for its predefined forwarding time interval. In such case, the packet is delayed until the next time interval of its virtual pipe. When the link delay decreases, packets are buffered until the first time interval of its virtual pipe.