Adapter card for on-demand formatting of data transfers between network devices
First Claim
1. An adapter card for formatting data transfers between at least two network devices, the adapter card comprising:
- a multi-formatting execution unit operable to format each data transfer between the at least two network devices based on one of a plurality of data formatting schemes, each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes;
at least one descriptor queue, each descriptor queue being operable to store at least one job descriptor, each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of the plurality of data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the at least two network devices; and
at least one communication channel operable to selectively connect the at least one descriptor queue to the multi-formatting execution unit to facilitate each electrical communication of each one job descriptor from the at least one descriptor queue to the multi-formatting execution unit.
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Abstract
An adapter card employs a multi-formatting execution unit, one or more descriptor queues and one or more communication channels. The multi-formatting execution unit formats each data transfer between two or more network devices based on one of a plurality of data formatting schemes with each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes. The descriptor queue(s) store one or more job descriptors with each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of the data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the network devices. The communication channels operable to selectively connect the descriptor queue(s) to the multi-formatting execution unit to facilitate an electrical communication of each one job descriptor from the descriptor queue(s) to the multi-formatting execution unit.
36 Citations
27 Claims
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1. An adapter card for formatting data transfers between at least two network devices, the adapter card comprising:
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a multi-formatting execution unit operable to format each data transfer between the at least two network devices based on one of a plurality of data formatting schemes, each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes;
at least one descriptor queue, each descriptor queue being operable to store at least one job descriptor, each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of the plurality of data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the at least two network devices; and
at least one communication channel operable to selectively connect the at least one descriptor queue to the multi-formatting execution unit to facilitate each electrical communication of each one job descriptor from the at least one descriptor queue to the multi-formatting execution unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An adapter card, comprising:
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a formatter operable to format each data transfer between at least two network devices as a function of at least one job descriptor, each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of the plurality of data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the at least two network devices, each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes;
at least one card processor; and
at least one buffer memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one buffer memory stores instructions operable with the at least one card processor to perform operations including;
generating the at least one job descriptor in response to an electrical communication of at least one data transfer command from the at least two network devices, each data transfer command requesting a particular data transfer between the at least two network devices based on one of the plurality of data formatting schemes;
managing a storage of at least one of the at least one job descriptor in the at least one card buffer memory, and managing a storage of an address pointer in the formatter for each job descriptor stored in the at least one card buffer memory. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An adapter card, comprising:
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a formatter operable to format each data transfer between at least two network devices as a function of at least one job descriptor, each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of the plurality of data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the at least two network devices, each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes;
at least one card processor at least one buffer memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one buffer memory stores instructions operable with the at least one card processor to perform operations including;
generating the at least one job descriptor in response to an electrical communication of at least one data transfer command from the at least two network devices, each data transfer command requesting a particular data transfer between the at least two network devices based on one of the plurality of data formatting schemes;
managing a storage of at least one of the at least one job descriptor in the at least one card buffer memory, and managing a storage of an address pointer in the formatter for each job descriptor stored in the at least one card buffer memory. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A signal bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by at lease one processor to perform operations to format data transfers between at least two network devices, the operations comprising:
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generating a job descriptor for each data transfer between the at least two network device, each job descriptor being indicative of a selection of one of a plurality of data formatting schemes for formatting a corresponding data transfer between the at least two network devices, each data formatting scheme being at least partially dissimilar from the other data formatting schemes; and
formatting each data transfer between the at least two network devices based on a corresponding job descriptor. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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Specification