Queue apparatus and mechanics for a communications interface architecture
US5386514A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 16, 1992 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 16, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/387
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A communication interface between a port driver and an port adapter of a host computer includes a singly-linked queue resident in a host memory of the computer. The queue includes a header element and a stopper element with message entries linked therebetween. The message entries contain information to be exchanged between the port driver and port adapter. Each message entry includes at least a carrier that contains a forward link pointer to the next entry in the queue and message/response specific control information. The stopper element identifies the end of the queue and is distinguishable from a message entry by a valid indicator, e.g., the state of at least one bit of the forward link pointer. Functionally, the stopper entry allows the port driver and port adapter to concurrently insert and remove message entries of the singly-linked queue in a reliable manner without the use of any external synchronization mechanism.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.