Host-fabric adapter and method of connecting a host system to a channel-based switched fabric in a data network
US6775719B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 28, 2000 |
| Grant date | Aug 10, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 27, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/3036
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A host system is provided with one or more host-fabric adapters installed therein for connecting to a switched fabric of a data network. The host-fabric adapter comprises a host interface arranged to interface a host memory of the host system; a serial interface arranged to receive and transmit data from said switched fabric; a Micro-Engine (ME) arranged to work on multiple tasks based on a Virtual Interface (VI) to support data transfers via the switched fabric, and configured to issue a host request to said host interface for a host transaction including an address and length of host data to be fetched from the host memory, and an End-Of-Cell (EOC) indicator which indicates that a cell has been built for transmission via the serial interface, and to begin working on a different task without waiting for the corresponding host response of the host request from the host interface; a Scheduler arranged to supply a request and a request VI number to said Micro-Engine (ME) for work; and a Request Comparator arranged to check the current VI that is being worked on by the Micro-Engine (ME), and to generate an acknowledgment ACK or a negative acknowledgment NACK to the Scheduler depending…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.