System and Method for Implementing and/or Operating Network Interface Devices to Achieve Network-Based Communications

• US 20080276257A1
• Filed: 05/04/2007
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.), Impinj, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Impinj, Inc.
• Inventors: Snyder, David A., Fuchs, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 8,112,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/327
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/022 Multivendor or multi-standard integration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0806 for initial configuration or provisioning, e.g. plug-and-play

Abstract

A computer system, and related components including network interface devices, as well as methods for implementing and/or operating network interface devices to achieve network-based communications, are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, the computer system includes a network interface device, and a bus driver in communication with the network interface device. The bus driver has access to a plurality of driver programs, and the bus driver is capable of causing an installation of one such driver program on the network interface device. Also, in at least some embodiments, the bus driver facilitates communications between multiple network interface devices and an operating system of the computer system, and/or between the network interface devices and user mode applications implementing graphical user interfaces. Further, in at least some embodiments, the bus driver governs operation of the network interface devices, for example, in relation to power management and/or interrupt handling.

Claims

1. A method of operating at least one network interface device, the method comprising:

providing a bus driver that is capable of communicating with a first driver program that is installed on a first network interface device of the at least one network interface device;

receiving at the bus driver a first signal relating to an operation of at least one of the first network interface device and a first hardware device coupled to the first network interface device by way of a first network;

sending a second signal from the bus driver to the first driver program in response to the first signal, wherein the second signal sent from the bus driver causes the operation to be performed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal is provided at least indirectly from a user mode application to the bus driver.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first signal is provided to the user mode application by way of at least one of an application interface service and an IOCTL interface.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signal includes at least one of a command and an amount of data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein a third signal is sent by the first network interface device to the first hardware device in response to the second signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one network interface device includes first and second network interface devices, wherein the first signal relates to the operation of the first network interface device, and further comprising:

receiving at the bus driver a third signal relating to an additional operation of the second network interface device; and

sending a fourth signal from the bus driver to a second driver program implemented on the second network interface device in response to the third signal, wherein the fourth signal sent from the bus driver causes the additional operation to be performed.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first and third signals received at the bus driver are received at least indirectly from first and second user mode applications, the first and second user mode applications operating independently of one another.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the user mode applications is selected from the group consisting of a RSLinx™

Classic application, a RSLinx™

Enterprise application, and a test application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the bus driver and the at least one network interface device are included within a computer system having additionally an operating system that supports operation of the bus driver and further includes a memory on which are stored a plurality of driver programs.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of driver programs include at least one of a DH-485 protocol driver program, a DH+ protocol driver program, a RIO protocol driver program, and a diagnostics driver program.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one network interface device include a plurality of Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) cards.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein PCI cards include at least one of a PKTXD card and a PKTX card.

13. The computer system of claim 9, wherein the at least one network interface device includes a plurality of channels.

14. A method of operating at least one network interface device, the method comprising:

providing a computer system including the at least one network interface device and a bus driver in communication with at least one driver program installed in relation to the at least one network interface device;

determining at the bus driver whether a request has been received that a first of the at least one network interface device perform a first power transition operation;

upon determining a receipt of the request, sending a first command from the bus driver to a driver program implemented on the first network interface device,

whereby as a result the first network interface device performs the first power transition operation.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the first power transition operation involves a powering down of the first network interface device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the first network interface device is a PCI card.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the first network interface device includes at least one channel.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

upon determining that the request has not been received, further determining whether a condition has been met in response to which at least one of the first power transition operation and a second power transition operation should be performed.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

upon determining that the condition has been met, sending at least one of the first command and a second command from the bus driver to the driver program implemented on the first network interface device,

whereby as a result the first network interface device performs at least one of the first power transition operation and the second power transition operation.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the condition is an elapsing of a predetermined amount of time since another event has occurred.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one network interface device includes a plurality of network interface devices, wherein it is determined that the request indicates that each of the plurality of network interface devices including but not limited to the first network device should perform the first power transition operation, and in response to the request the bus driver sends out a plurality of commands resulting in all of the network interface devices powering down.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

determining at the bus driver whether an additional request has been received that the first of the at least one network interface device perform a second power transition operation;

upon determining a receipt of the request, sending a second command from the bus driver to the driver program implemented on the first network interface device,

whereby as a result the first network interface device performs the second power transition operation.

23. A method of operating a network interface device, the method comprising:

providing a computer system including the network interface device and a bus driver in communication with a driver program installed in relation to the network interface device;

receiving at the network interface device an incoming signal arriving from a hardware device via a network by which the network interface device is coupled to the hardware device;

sending an interrupt signal from the network interface device to the bus driver; and

calling a first interrupt service routine (ISR) at the bus driver,

whereby the bus driver in turn causes the network interface device to appropriately respond to the incoming signal.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the calling of the first ISR at the bus driver results in performing of a second ISR at the network interface device by the driver program installed in relation to the network interface device.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the computer system is further provided with additional network interface devices, wherein a respective driver program is installed in relation to each of the additional network interface devices and is in communication with the bus driver, and wherein the bus driver calls at least one of the first ISR and additional ISRs in response to the first interrupt signal and additional interrupt signals received from the network interface drivers.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the network interface device includes at least one channel, and wherein when the network interface device includes first and second channels, the first driver program is implemented on the first channel and a second driver program is implemented on the second channel.

27. A network interface device comprising:

at least one channel, wherein each respective channel includes a respective processing device and a respective memory device; and

at least one port coupled to the at least one channel, the at least one port allowing the at least one channel to be coupled to at least one network,

wherein each respective processing device operates at least partly in accordance with a respective driver program implemented thereon, and

wherein each respective driver program is configured for operation in relation to a bus driver program that is supported by another processing device other than the respective processing device included within each respective channel.

28. A computer system comprising the network interface device of claim 28 and further comprising:

the other processing device on which is supported the bus driver program;

at least one additional network interface device, wherein each of the network interface devices are configured for communication with the bus driver program; and

means for storing a plurality of driver programs including each respective driver program implemented the at least one channel,

wherein the bus driver program is capable of causing implementation of the driver programs onto the network interface devices.

29. The computer system of claim 28, wherein the bus driver is capable of communicating with at least one user mode application, and wherein signals are communicated at least indirectly between the bus driver and the at least one user mode application.

30. The computer system of claim 29, further comprising a user mode device supporting the at least one user mode application.