Communicating message request transaction types between agents in a computer system using multiple message groups

• US 20060233199A1
• Filed: 06/13/2006
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Harriman, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,769,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/469
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0745 in an input/output transactions management context input/output processing in general G06F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers

Abstract

A general input/output communication port implements a communication stack that includes a physical layer, a data link layer and a transaction layer. The transaction layer includes assembling a packet header for a message request transaction to one or more logical devices. The packet header includes a format field to indicate the length of the packet header and to further specify whether the packet header includes a data payload, a subset of a type field to indicate the packet header relates to the message request transaction and a message field. The message field includes a message to implement the message request transaction. The message includes at least one message that is selected from a group of messages. The group of messages to include a message to unlock a logical device, a message to reset a logical device, a message to indicate a correctable error condition, a message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, a message to indicate a fatal error condition, a message to report a bad request packet, a message to indicate power management and a message to emulate an interrupt signal.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a general input/output communication port to implement a communication stack including a physical layer, a data link layer and a transaction layer, the transaction layer to include assembling a packet header for a message request transaction to one or more logical devices, the packet header including;

a format field to indicate the length of the packet header and to further specify whether the packet header includes a data payload;

a subset of a type field to indicate the packet header relates to the message request transaction; and

a message field to include a message to implement the message request transaction, the message to include at least one message selected from the following group of;

a message to unlock a logical device, a message to reset a logical device, a message to indicate a correctable error condition, a message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, a message to indicate a fatal error condition, a message to report a bad request packet, a message to indicate power management and a message to emulate an interrupt signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message to implement the message request transaction comprises the message to emulate an interrupt signal, the interrupt signal to include a legacy peripheral component interconnect (PCI) signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message field further includes an indication of whether a completion is required for an implemented message request transaction.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein, not supporting the implementation of the message included in the message field is an indication to a logical device that the completion is not required.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the message to include at least one message selected from the following group comprises the at least one message selected from the following group of:

the message to unlock a logical device, the message to indicate a correctable error condition, the message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, the message to indicate a fatal error condition, the message to indicate power management and the message to emulate an interrupt signal.

6. All apparatus comprising:

a general input/output communication port to implement a communication stack including a physical layer, a data link layer and a transaction layer, the transaction layer to include disassembling a packet header for a message request transaction received at the general input/output communication port, the packet header including;

a format field to indicate the length of the packet header and to further specify whether the packet header includes a data payload;

a subset of a type field to indicate the packet header relates to the message request transaction; and

a message field to include a message to implement the message request transaction, the message to include at least one message selected from the following group of;

a message to unlock a logical device, a message to reset a logical device, a message to indicate a correctable error condition, a message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, a message to indicate a fatal error condition, a message to report a bad request packet, a message to indicate power management and a message to emulate an interrupt signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the message to implement the message request transaction comprises the message to emulate an interrupt signal, the interrupt signal to include a legacy peripheral component interconnect (PCI) signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the message field further includes an indication of whether a completion is required for an implemented message request transaction.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, not supporting the implementation of the message included in the message field is an indication that the completion is not required.

10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the message to include at least one message selected from the following group comprises the at least one message selected from the following group of:

the message to unlock a logical device, the message to indicate a correctable error condition, the message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, the message to indicate a fatal error condition, the message to indicate power management and the message to emulate an interrupt signal.

11. A system comprising:

a transmitting device to include a general input/output communication port to implement a communication stack including a physical layer, a data link layer and a transaction layer, the transaction layer to include assembling a packet header relating to a message request transaction to a logical device, the packet header including;

a format field to indicate the length of the packet header and to further specify whether the packet header includes a data payload;

a subset of a type field to indicate the packet header relates to the message request transaction; and

a message field to include a message to implement the message request transaction, the message to include at least one message selected from the following group of;

a message to unlock a logical device, a message to reset a logical device, a message to indicate a correctable error condition, a message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, a message to indicate a fatal error condition, a message to report a bad request packet, a message to indicate power management and a message to emulate an interrupt signal; and

a receiving device to include the logical device, the receiving device to receive the packet header relating to the message request transaction to the logical device, the packet header received at a general input/output communication port, the receiving device to implement the communication stack that includes the data link layer, the physical layer and the transaction layer, the transaction layer to include disassembling the packet header relating to the message request transaction for the logical device to implement the message included in the message field.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the message field in the packet header further includes an indication of whether a completion is required for an implemented message request transaction.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein, the logical device not supporting the implementation of the message included in the message field is an indication to the logical device that the completion is not required.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the message to include at least one message selected from the following group comprises the at least one message selected from the following group of:

the message to unlock a logical device, the message to indicate a correctable error condition, the message to indicate an uncorrectable error condition, the message to indicate a fatal error condition, the message to indicate power management and the message to emulate an interrupt signal.

15. The system of claim 11, the packet header further comprising:

a requester identification field to include information to identify the requester for the message request transaction; and

a tag field to include information to identify a completion relating to the message request, wherein the requester identification field and the tag field together form a transaction identification field.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the requester identification field comprises the requester identification field to include a bus number, a device number and a function number associated with the requester.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the transaction layer at the receiving device, based on the logical device implementing the message included in the message field, includes assembling a packet header relating to a completion message, the packet header relating to the completion message to include:

a completion status field to indicate a status of a completion;

a completer identification field to include a bus number for the logical device, a device number for the logical device and a function number associated with the logical device; and

the transaction identification field included in the packet header of the packet relating to the message request;

the receiving device to forward the completion message to the transmitting device.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the status of a completion included in the completion status field comprises at least one status selected from the following group of:

a successful completion, an unsupported message request, and a completer abort.