Computer system with multiple classes of device IDs

• US 20040181608A1
• Filed: 03/10/2003
• Published: 09/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Cypher, Robert E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,110,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0292 using tables or multilevel address translation means G06F12/023 takes precedence; address translation in virtual memory systems G06F12/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/60 Types of network addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/35 involving non-standard use of addresses for implementing network functionalities, e.g. coding subscription information within the address or functional addressing, i.e. assigning an address to a function

Abstract

Various systems and methods implement multiple classes of device IDs. A computer system may include a network, a sending device, and a receiving device. The sending device is configured to encode less than all of a device ID identifying the sending device in a packet before sending the packet on the network. In response to receiving the packet, the receiving device is configured to send a responsive packet to the sending device. The receiving device is configured to encode the entire device ID identifying the sending device in the responsive packet. A portion of the device ID that the initiating device does not encode in the packet identifies the initiating device as one of the devices in a particular device class. Only devices in that device class are configured to send packets having a characteristic of the packet on the network.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a network;

a sending device coupled to send a packet on a network, wherein the device is configured to encode less than all of a device ID identifying the sending device in the packet; and

a receiving device coupled to receive the packet from the network and configured to send a responsive packet to the sending device, wherein the receiving device is configured to encode all of the device ID identifying the sending device in the responsive packet.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a remaining portion of the device ID that the initiating device is not configured to encode in the packet identifies the initiating device as one of a plurality of devices in a device class, wherein only devices in the device class are configured to send packets having a characteristic of the packet on the network.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein a remaining portion of the device ID that the initiating device is not configured to encode in the packet identifies the initiating device as one of a plurality of devices configured to initiate coherence transactions by sending address packets on an address network.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the receiving device is configured to generate a remaining portion of the device ID to encode in the responsive packet in response to the packet having a particular characteristic.

5. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the packet has the particular characteristic if the packet is a type of packet sent to initiate a coherency transaction.

6. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising an other device, wherein a portion of a device ID of the other device is identical to a portion of the device ID of the sending device encoded in the packet, and wherein the device ID of the other device is not identical to the device ID of the sending device.

7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the network comprises an address network, and wherein the initiating device is configured to send the packet on the address network in order to initiate a coherence transaction for a cache line, wherein the receiving device is configured to send the responsive packet on a data network, and wherein the responsive packet includes a copy of the cache line.

8. A computer system, comprising:

a plurality of client devices, wherein a portion of a respective device ID of each of the plurality of client devices has a value;

an other plurality of client devices, wherein the portion of a respective device ID of each of the other plurality of client devices has a different value;

a network coupling the plurality of client devices and the other plurality of client devices;

wherein each of the plurality of client devices is configured to send a packet on the network and to encode all but the portion of the respective device ID in the packet.

9. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the portion of the device ID that each of the plurality of client devices is not configured to encode in the packet identifies a device class, wherein only devices in the device class are configured to send packets having a characteristic of the packet on the network.

10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein a remaining portion of the device ID that each of the plurality of client devices is not configured to encode in the packet identifies a class of devices configured to initiate coherence transactions by sending address packets on an address network.

11. The computer system of claim 8, wherein in response to receiving a packet containing less than all of a device ID and having a particular characteristic, each of the other plurality of client devices is configured to encode the portion of the device ID having the value in a responsive packet.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the packet has the particular characteristic if the packet is a type of packet sent to initiate a coherency transaction.

13. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the portion of each device ID is a device class ID, wherein each device ID also includes a subset ID, and wherein one of the plurality of client devices has a same subset ID as one of the other plurality of client devices.

14. A system, comprising:

a transaction-initiating client device, wherein a subset ID portion of a respective device ID of the transaction-initiating client device has a first value;

a non-transaction-initiating client device, wherein the subset ID portion of a respective device ID of the non-transaction-initiating client device also has the first value, wherein the device ID of the transaction-initiating client device is not equal to the device ID of the non-transaction initiating client device;

an address network coupling the transaction-initiating client device and the non-transaction-initiating client device; and

wherein the transaction-initiating client device is configured to initiate coherency transactions by sending address packets on the address network, wherein the transaction-initiating client device is configured to only encode the subset ID portion of the respective device ID in each address packet.

15. The computer system of claim 14, further comprising a receiving device and a data network, wherein the receiving device is configured to receive an address packet that only includes the subset ID portion of the respective device ID of the transaction-initiating client, wherein the receiving device is configured to encode the entire device ID of the transaction-initiating device in a data packet and to send the packet on the data network.

16. A method of operating a computer system, the method comprising:

a sending device sending a packet on a network, wherein the packet includes less than all of a device ID identifying the sending device; and

a receiving device sending a responsive packet in which all of the device ID is encoded in response to receiving the packet.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a remaining portion of the device ID that is not encoded in the packet identifies the initiating device as one of a plurality of devices in a device class, wherein only devices in the device class are configured to send packets having a characteristic of the packet on the network.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein a remaining portion of the device ID that is not encoded in the packet identifies the initiating device as one of a plurality of devices configured to initiate coherence transactions by sending address packets on an address network.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising the receiving device generating a remaining portion of the device ID to encode in the responsive packet in response to the packet having a particular characteristic.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the packet has the particular characteristic if the packet is a type of packet sent to initiate a coherency transaction.