Abstract
A hardware handler receives a sequenced stream over redundant connections and arbitrates between them by expected sequence number. When such a handler is started while the stream is already running, a known approach is to let software build the initial state first and then transfer it: the software freezes its state, sends it to the hardware, replays the packets it has received since the freeze through a host-fed input of the arbiter, and the hardware then takes over the live connections. Two known ways of making that takeover lossless are a hold-off buffer on each live input, sized to exceed the software's worst-case lag, and a temporary arbiter mode that discards ahead-of-sequence packets so that the live input cannot win before the software has caught up. This disclosure describes using both at once with a hold-off buffer of any size: the discard mode guarantees that nothing is lost however small the buffer, and the buffer shortens the wait for the live input to take over. The software consumes one connection only, so the freeze point is an exact boundary and no sequence numbers need to be recorded. Takeover per channel, completion by counters, and sourcing the software's packets through the handler's own ports are also described.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Anonymous, "Handing a Live Feed Stream from Software to Hardware Using a Small Hold-Off Buffer and a Temporary Ahead-of-Sequence Discard", Technical Disclosure Commons, (September 29, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/11908