Design and application of Simple Data Link (SDL) framing protocol

The Simple Data Link (SDL) framing protocol is uniquely designed to delineate packets in high-speed communications. SDL can identify the boundaries of variable length frames by using length indication and Header Error Correction (HEC) check. In this paper, we derive an HEC hunting algorithm for bit-level and octet-level operations and propose a hardware circuit to simplify the implementation of an SDL framer. By employing only one CRC detector, the proposed framer can reduce the hunting time of packet delineation just like using multiple framers in parallel. To evaluate the performance of SDL in next generation optical networks, the packet loss probability of Optical Burst Switching (OBS) networks is examined. Analytical results reveal that receivers with SDL framers can greatly reduce packet loss probability than those with only pure IP headers.