Computer system including a plurality of nodes for transferring through a data transfer network messages having distinguishing fields used for distinguishing the messages and controlling receipt thereof

• US 6,125,399 A
• Filed: 04/17/1998
• Issued: 09/26/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Hamilton, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US09/061,328
• Time in Patent Office: 893 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200-201, 709/206-207, 709/238-246, 709/250, 370/389, 370/392, 370/395-400, 370/471
• US Class Current: 709/245
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A computer system having a plurality of processing nodes interconnected by a message transfer network. Each node includes an instruction processor, a transmit circuit to transmit messages to other processing nodes through the message transfer network and a plurality of postings in a memory storage. Each message includes a header part and a data part with the header part having distinguishing fields that are used to distinguish messages. Each posting includes message specification fields corresponding to each distinguishing field of a message header part wherein the message specification fields selectively matching the distinguishing fields of a message. Each posting further includes a posted control field wherein the posted control field is used to control the operation of a receive circuit with respect to a message matching the posting. The receive circuit enables receiving of messages sent by other processing nodes through the network, searching upon reception of each message for and locating a posting having message specification fields that match the corresponding distinguishing fields of the message being received and to control upon location of a posting, the posted control field to control the operation of the receive circuit with respect to the message being received.

Claims

1. A computer system including a plurality of processing nodes interconnected by a message transfer network, each node comprising:

an instruction processor;

a transmit circuit to transmit messages to other processing nodes through the message transfer network, each said message comprising a header part and a data part, the header part having distinguishing fields that are used to distinguish messages;

a memory storage;

a plurality of postings in said memory storage, each posting comprising message specification fields corresponding to each distinguishing field of a message header part, the message specification fields selectively matching the distinguishing fields of a message, each posting further comprising a posted control field, said posted control field being used to control the operation of a receive circuit with respect to a message matching the posting; and

a receive circuit comprising;

receive means to receive messages sent by other processing nodes through the message transfer network,

search means, that upon receiving a message, searches for and locates from among a plurality of postings a posting having message specification fields that match corresponding distinguishing fields of said message being received, and

receive control means, that upon locating a posting, uses said posted control field of said posting to control the operation of the receive circuit with respect to said message being received and to route said message being received to a destination defined in said posted control field.

2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message,

said message specification field is a source specification field, and

said search means searches memory storage for a posting having a source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received.

3. The computer system according to claim 2, wherein said source specification field includes a value representing one of a specific source specification and a wildcard source specification, and

said search means searches memory storage for a posting having either a specific source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received or a wildcard source specification field.

4. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said distinguishing field is a tag field that is set by the instruction processor of a transmitting node,

said message specification field is a tag specification field, and

said search means searches memory storage for a posting having a tag specification field that matches the tag field of the message being received.

5. The computer system according to claim 4, wherein said tag specification field includes a value representing one of a specific tag specification and a wildcard tag specification field, and said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having either a specific tag specification field that matches the tag field of the message being received or a wildcard tag specification field.

6. The computer system according to claim 5, wherein

said distinguishing field is a communicator field that is set by the instruction processor of the transmitting node,

said message specification field is a communicator specification field,

and said search means searches memory storage for a posting having additionally a communicator specification field that matches the communicator field of the message being received.

7. The computer system according to claim 5, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message, said message specification field is a source specification field, and

said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having additionally a source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received.

8. The computer system according to claim 5, wherein postings are valid hash table entries in a hash table in main storage,

said search means searches for a posting that matches the message being received by searching for each of possible postings that match the message being received, these possible postings corresponding to each permutation of specific or wildcard message specification fields, each posting being searched for by first calculating the hash value of the message specification fields of the posting to be searched for, this hash value being used as an initial search index of a hash table entry into the hash table, and then checking each hash table entry, starting from the initial search index, until either an invalid hash table entry or the required posting is found, an invalid hash table entry signifying that the posting can not be found.

9. The computer system according to claim 8, wherein:

each posting additionally comprises a time field that indicates the relative age of each posting;

in the case where the search means finds more than one posting that matches the message being received, the search means uses the oldest posting as determined by the time fields of each posting.

10. The computer system according to claim 4, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message,

said message specification field is a source specification field, and

said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having additionally a source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received.

11. The computer system according to claims 1, 4, 2 or 10, wherein:

postings are valid hash table entries in a hash table in main storage, said search means searches for a posting that matches the distinguishing fields of the message being received by first calculating the hash value of the message specification fields of the posting to be searched for, this hash value being used as an initial search index of a hash table entry into the hash table, and then checking each hash table entry, starting from the initial search index, until either an invalid hash table entry or the required posting is found, an invalid hash table entry signifying that the posting cannot be found.

12. The computer system according to claim 4, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message,

said message specification field is a source specification field,

said source specification field is one of a specific source specification field and a wildcard source specification field,

and said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having additionally either a specific source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received or a wildcard source specification field.

13. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein:

each posting additionally comprises a posting valid field that indicates whether the posted control field is active or used, said posting containing an active posted control field representing an active posting, and said search means searches memory storage for active postings only; and

the receive circuit additionally comprises posting inactivation means, that upon location of a posting, modifies the corresponding posting valid field to indicate that said posting is used.

14. The computer system according to claim 13 wherein each posting additionally comprises a persistent control field that indicates whether the said posting is a persistent posting or a non-persistent posting;

and

said posting inactivation means only modifies the posting valid field of postings other than persistent postings.

15. The computer system according to claim 13, wherein:

the posted control field is a receive control word address pointer, there being a plurality of receive control words in memory storage;

each receive control word having a next receive control word address pointer and a next posting valid field indicating the validity of the next receive control word address pointer, these fields allowing a plurality of receive control words to be chained together with the last receive control word in the chain containing a next receive control word address pointer indicated as being invalid;

said receive control means, upon location of a posting, uses the receive control word address pointer of the posting to fetch a corresponding receive control word and uses said receive control word to control the operation of the receive circuit with respect to the message being received; and

said posting inactivation means, upon fetching the receive control word, copies the corresponding next receive control word address pointer to the receive control word address pointer of the posting, and copies the corresponding next posting valid field to the posting valid field of the posting, the posting valid field being modified to indicate that the posting is used only when the last receive control word in said chain is fetched.

16. The computer system according to claim 15, wherein

each receive control word additionally has a persistent control field that indicates whether the receive control word is persistent or non-persistent;

and said posting inactivation means only modifies the posting valid field upon fetching a receive control word that is indicated as being non-persistent.

17. The computer system according to claim 16, wherein:

the posted control field of a posting is a control word address pointer, this address pointer being either a receive control word address pointer of a non-persistent posting, or a pool control word address pointer of a persistent posting, there being a plurality of receive control words and pool control words in memory storage;

said receive control means, upon location of a non-persistent posting, uses the receive control word address pointer of the posting to fetch the corresponding receive control word and uses the receive control word to control the operation of the receive circuit with respect to the message being received;

and said receive control means, upon location of a persistent posting, uses the pool control word address pointer of the posting to fetch the corresponding pool control word and uses the said pool control word to receive the message being received.

18. The computer system according to claim 17, wherein:

there are additionally a plurality of data pools in memory storage, each being an area of free memory storage;

there are additionally a plurality of receive status word pools in memory storage, each receive status word pool containing a plurality of receive status words;

each pool control word contains all control information required to manage a data pool and a receive status word pool;

the receive circuit additionally has pool receive means to allocate a pool receive buffer from the data pool corresponding to the pool control word, to record the message data part of the message being received to said pool receive buffer, to allocate a pool receive status word from the receive status word pool corresponding to the pool control word and to record status and control information relating to the message being received in said receive status word.

19. The computer system according to claim 18, wherein:

each receive control word has an address pointer to a receive buffer in memory storage, a receive buffer enable field that enables use of the said receive buffer, and a pool control word address pointer to a pool control word to be used by the receive circuit in the case that use of the receive buffer is not enabled,

the receive circuit has additional receive buffer means to write the data part of the message being received to said receive buffer in the case that the receive buffer is indicated as enabled,

and, in the case of a receive using a receive control word whose receive buffer is not enabled, the pool receive means uses the pool control word address pointer to locate a pool control word, allocates a pool receive buffer from the data pool corresponding to said pool control word, and records the message data part of the message being received to said pool receive buffer.

20. The computer system according to claim 19, wherein:

each pool control word includes a receive sequence field, the receive control word additionally having receive status fields,

and the pool receive means includes additional means to increment the receive sequence field upon reception of each message that uses pool control words, and means to record the current value of the receive sequence field in each pool status word written and in each receive control word whose receive buffer was not enabled.

21. The computer system according to claim 16, wherein:

the posted control field of a posting is a control word address pointer, this address pointer being either a receive control word address pointer of a non-persistent posting, or a pool control word address pointer of a persistent posting, there being a plurality of receive control words and pool control words in memory storage;

each receive control word contains a next control word address pointer, a next posting valid field indicating the validity of the next control word address pointer, and a next persistent control field indicating whether the next control word address pointer is a next receive control word address pointer or a next pool control word address pointer, these fields allowing a plurality of receive control words to be chained together with the last receive control word in the chain containing either a next control word address pointer indicated as being invalid, or a next pool control word address pointer corresponding to a chained persistent posting; and

said posting inactivation means, upon fetching a receive control word, copies the corresponding next control word address pointer to the control word address pointer of the posting, copies the corresponding next persistent control field to the persistent control field of the posting, and copies the corresponding next posting valid field to the posting valid field of the posting, the persistent control field being modified to indicate that said posting is persistent only when the last receive control word in the chain is fetched and the next persistent control field of the last receive control word indicates that the next control word address pointer is a next pool control word address pointer, the posting valid field being modified to indicate that said posting is used only when there is no pool control word chained and the last receive control word in said chain is fetched.

22. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein:

the posted control field is a receive control word address pointer, there being a plurality of receive control words in memory storage; and

said receive control means, upon location of a posting, uses the receive control word address pointer of the posting to fetch the corresponding receive control word and uses said receive control word to control the operation of the receive circuit with respect to the message being received.

23. The computer system according to claim 22, wherein:

each receive control word has an address pointer to a receive buffer in memory storage,

and the receive circuit has additional receive buffer means to write the data part of the message being received to said receive buffer.

24. The computer system according to claim 23, wherein

each receive control word additionally has a size field that indicates the size of said receive buffer,

and the receive circuit has additional length checking means to compare the length of the message data part of the message being received to the size field corresponding to said receive buffer.

25. The computer system according to claim 22, wherein:

said receive control word additionally has receive status fields,

and the receive circuit has additional receive status means to update the receive status fields of a receive control word with a status relating to the reception of the message being received.

26. The computer system according to claim 25, wherein:

the receive status means updates the said receive status fields once upon starting reception of the message being received and again upon finishing reception of the message being received, each update indicating the current reception status of the message.

27. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein:

the posted control field is an address pointer to a receive buffer in memory storage; and

the receive circuit has additional receive buffer means to write a data part of the message being received to said receive buffer.

28. The computer system according to claim 27, wherein

each posting additionally has a size field that indicates the size of said receive buffer,

and the receive circuit has additional length checking means to compare the length of the message data part of the message being received to the size field corresponding to said receive buffer.

29. A computer system according to claim 5, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message,

said message specification field is a source specification field,

said source specification field is one of a specific source specification field and a wildcard source specification field,

and said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having additionally either a specific source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received or a wildcard source specification field.

30. A computer system according to claim 6, wherein said distinguishing field is a source field that identifies the source of the message,

said message specification field is a source specification field,

said source specification field is one of a specific source specification field and a wildcard source specification field,

and said search means searches said memory storage for a posting having additionally either a specific source specification field that matches the source field of the message being received or a wildcard source specification field.

31. A computer system according to claim 29, wherein postings are valid hash table entries in a hash table in main storage,

said search means searches for a posting that matches the message being received by searching for each of possible postings that match the message being received, these possible postings corresponding to each permutation of specific or wildcard message specification fields, each posting being searched for by first calculating the hash value of the message specification fields of the posting to be searched for, this hash value being used as an initial search index of a hash table entry into the hash table, and then checking each hash table entry, starting from the initial search index, until either an invalid hash table entry or the required posting is found, an invalid hash table entry signifying that the posting can not be found.

32. A computer system according to claim 31, wherein each posting additionally comprises a time filed that indicates the relative age of each posting;

in the case where the search means finds more than one posting that matches the message being received, the search means uses the oldest posting as determined by the time fields of each posting.