Method, system and protocol that enable unrestricted user-level access to a network interface adapter
US7653754B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 5, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jan 26, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 14, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K13/0825
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method for preventing deadlock in communication between a host software application and a network interface card (NIC), comprises writing a doorbell associated with at least one descriptor having a descriptor context to a buffer in the NIC, dropping at least one doorbell from the buffer if the buffer is full, thereby allowing a write of a new doorbell to the buffer, and recovering each dropped doorbell for further execution of descriptors associated with this doorbell. The descriptor execution is in order of posting by the application to the NIC. A system implementing the method comprises a doorbell drop mechanism and a doorbell recovery mechanism.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.