System and method for emulating serial port communication

• US 20040220795A1
• Filed: 05/02/2003
• Published: 11/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Egenera Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Egenera Incorporated
• Inventors: Haley, Neil, Maynard, Justin
• Granted Patent: US 7,228,265 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 703/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/105 where the programme performs an input/output emulation function

Abstract

A method and system of emulating serial corn port communication. A computer processing system has computer-executable operating system instructions including first instructions that interact with a first serial device according to a predefined input/output (I/O) hardware interface. A first serial device has a receive port and a transmit port and has the predefined (I/O) hardware interface. A second serial device has a receive port and a transmit port. The transmit port of the first serial device is in serial communication with the receive port of the second serial device, and the receive port of the first serial device is in serial communication with the transmit port of the second serial device. Computer-executable instructions emulate serial communication port device communication and include instructions that transmit information over another medium in response to receive requests from the second serial device. The transmitted information includes information representative of the receive request from the second device. Transmissions to the first serial device by the operating system instructions are transmitted over the other medium and serial communication port device communication is thereby emulated over the other medium. The emulation instructions further include instructions, responsive to a communication received from the other medium, that transmit information representative of the received communication to the transmit port of the second serial device. The emulation system communicates with at least one console device. The other medium comprises a packet-based network. The other medium comprises a cell-based network. The operating system communicates directly and solely with the predefined I/O hardware interface.

Claims

1. In a computer processing system having computer-executable operating system instructions including instructions that interact with a first serial device according to a predefined input/output (I/O) hardware interface, a serial communication port emulation system comprising:

a first serial device having a receive port and a transmit port and having the predefined (I/O) hardware interface;

a second serial device having a receive port and a transmit port, the transmit port of the first serial device being in serial communication with the receive port of the second serial device, and the receive port of the first serial device being in serial communication with the transmit port of the second serial device;

computer-executable instructions to emulate serial communication port device communication, the emulation instructions including instructions that transmit information over another medium in response to receive requests from the second serial device, the transmitted information including information representative of the receive request from the second device; and

whereby transmissions to the first serial device by the operating system instructions are transmitted over the other medium and serial communication port device communication is thereby emulated over the other medium.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the emulation instructions further include instructions, responsive to a communication received from the other medium, that transmit information representative of the received communication to the transmit port of the second serial device, wherein the second serial device then conveys the received communication to a receiver port of the first serial device and the first serial device conveys the received communication to the operating system instructions.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the emulation instructions operate in response to events generated by the second serial device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the emulation system communicates with at least one console device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the other medium comprises a packet-based network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the other medium comprises a cell-based network.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the operating system communicates directly and solely with the predefined I/O hardware interface.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the other medium comprises a frame-based network.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the other medium comprises a TDM-based network.

8. A method of emulating serial communication port communication over an alternative transport, comprising:

an operating system communicating a message directly with an exposed hardware interface of a first serial communication port device;

the first serial communication port sending the message from the operating system on to a receive port of a second serial communication port device;

the second serial communication port device generating information indicative of the receipt of the message;

emulation logic, in response to the generated information, conveying a message on the alternative transport to thereby emulate serial communication port communication on the alternative transport.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising

receiving a message on the alternative transport;

invoking emulation logic in response thereto to receive information from the message;

sending the received information to transmit port of the second serial communication port device;

the second serial communication port sending the information to a receive port of the first serial communication port device; and

the operating system communication with the first serial communication port device to receive the information.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the emulation logic operates in response to events generated by the second serial device.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the emulation system communicates with at least one console device.

12. The method of claim 8 wherein the other medium comprises a packet-based network.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the other medium comprises a cell-based network.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the operating system communicates directly and solely with the predefined I/O hardware interface.

17. The method of claim 8 wherein the other medium comprises a frame-based network.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein the other medium comprises a TDM-based network.