Dynamic communication tuning apparatus, systems, and methods

• US 20040019895A1
• Filed: 07/29/2002
• Published: 01/29/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Dubal, Scott P.
• Application Number:
  US10/207,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20040019895A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/349 for interfaces, buses
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/81 Threshold

Abstract

An apparatus and system, in one embodiment to be used in a network controller, may include a driver module, a monitoring module, and an adjustment module. The monitoring module may be used to compare a value associated with a throughput indication for the driver module to a corresponding reference value. The adjustment module may then automatically adjust a parameter value associated with the driver module to provide a new parameter value that serves to increase the throughput performance of the driver module. An article may include data, which when accessed, results in a machine performing a method including comparing the value associated with a throughput indication for the driver module to a corresponding reference value, determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the reference value, and then automatically adjusting a parameter value associated with the driver module to increase performance of the driver module.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a driver module;

a monitoring module capable of being communicatively coupled to the driver module, the monitoring module to compare a value associated with a throughput indication for the driver module to a corresponding reference throughput value; and

an adjustment module capable of being communicatively coupled to the monitoring module, the adjustment module to adjust a parameter value associated with the driver module to provide a new value in response to the monitoring module providing an indication that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monitoring module and the adjustment module are included in a single software program.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a registry to store the new value.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the driver module is capable of operating in compliance with a network driver interface specification.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the network driver interface specification is a Microsoft®

Windows®

operating system Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS).

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface module to provide an indication of the new value.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission throughput rate indicator.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:

a reception throughput rate indicator.

9. A system, comprising:

a Microsoft®

Windows®

operating system Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) compliant driver module;

a monitoring module capable of being communicatively coupled to the driver module, the monitoring module to compare a value associated with a throughput indication for the driver module to a corresponding reference throughput value;

an adjustment module capable of being communicatively coupled to the monitoring module, the adjustment module to adjust a parameter value associated with the driver module to provide a new value in response to the monitoring module providing an indication that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value; and

a network adapter module capable of being communicatively coupled to the driver module.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a memory including a registry to store the new value.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the driver module maintains the value associated with the throughput indication in a register.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a memory capable of being communicatively coupled to the wireless network adapter; and

a processor capable of being communicatively coupled to the memory.

13. A method, comprising:

comparing a value associated with a throughput indication for a driver module with a corresponding reference throughput value;

determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value; and

adjusting, using an adjustment module capable of being communicatively coupled to a monitoring module, a parameter value associated with the driver module so as to provide a new value in response to determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

activating the driver module so as to place the driver module in an operating state.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

waiting until the driver module is placed in the operating state.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

adjusting an additional parameter value associated with the driver module in response to determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

reading the new value from a registry.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

monitoring, using the monitoring module, the value associated with the throughput indication for the driver module .

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the throughput indication is an indication of a transmission throughput rate.

20. An article comprising a machine-accessible medium having associated data, wherein the data, when accessed, results in a machine performing:

comparing a value associated with a throughput indication for a driver module to a corresponding reference throughput value;

determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value; and

adjusting, using an adjustment module capable of being communicatively coupled to a monitoring module, a parameter value associated with the driver module so as to provide a new value in response to determining that the value associated with the throughput indication is less than the corresponding reference throughput value.

21. The article of claim 20, wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data, which when accessed by the machine, results in the machine performing:

selecting a first level of parameter values including the parameter value associated with the driver module; and

selecting a second level of parameter values including an additional parameter value associated with the driver module, and not including the parameter value associated with the driver module.

22. The article of claim 20, wherein the parameter value is a duplex parameter value.

23. The article of claim 20, wherein the parameter value is a speed parameter value.

24. The article of claim 20, wherein the throughput indication is an indication of a reception throughput rate.

25. The article of claim 20, wherein the parameter value associated with the driver module is a number of buffers.

26. The article of claim 20, wherein the machine-accessible medium further includes data, which when accessed by the machine, results in the machine performing:

de-activating the driver module so as to place the driver module in a non-operating state.

27. A method of adjusting a network driver, the method comprising:

accessing data identifying measured performance of the network driver; and

based at least on the accessed data identifying measured performance, changing at least one parameter that affects operation of the network driver.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the network driver comprises a Microsoft®

Windows®

operating system Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) compliant driver.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the measured performance comprises at least one of a measure of throughput, a measure of missed packets, a bit error rate, a rate of packet transmission, and a rate of packet reception.

30. The method of claim 27, further comprising accessing data identifying system resources, wherein changing the at least one parameter comprises changing the at least one parameter based at least on the data identifying system resources.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the system resources comprise at least one of available memory and processor speed.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising selecting the at least one parameter of the network driver.

33. The method of claim 27, further comprising repeatedly changing at least one parameter of the network driver until measured performance reaches a threshold.