Method and apparatus for shared I/O in a load/store fabric
US7046668B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 14, 2004 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 14, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/12
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.