Component identification and transmission system

• US 7,716,386 B1
• Filed: 10/17/2005
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: McDowell, Katherine Marie, Hassan, Hassan Elmosallamy Ibrahim, Tsigler, Andrey L., Vásquez, Alejandro Emilio
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang; Khanh
• Application Number:
  US11/252,202
• Time in Patent Office: 1,667 Days
• Field of Search: 710/18, 710/19, 710/301, 710/302, 713/1, 713/100, 709/223, 709/224
• US Class Current: 710/19
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/387 for adaptation of different data processing systems to different peripheral devices, e.g. protocol converters for incompatible systems, open system

Abstract

Embodiments of this invention comprise a modular, scalable architecture for building a variety of Layer 2/3/4+ Ethernet products and devices. Such devices comprise of a set modules. The invention provides a set of rules to handle such modules. The rules are controlled by the architectural component named card manager. The card manager uses a protocol to discover the modules that are entering or leaving the system/device. The protocol'"'"'s data provides a unique way of identifying the modules that belong to the system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining if a first unit having a first local card manager is designated as a management unit or as a non-management unit, wherein the first unit is one of multiple units operably coupled using a virtual backplane, with each of the units comprising a local card manager;

if the first unit is designated as a management unit, running a first card manager protocol on the first local card manager; and

if the first unit is designated as a non-management unit, running a second card manager protocol on the first local card manager, wherein the first card manager protocol is a different protocol than the second card manager protocol,

wherein the first card manager protocol includes

receiving card information from each of the local card managers, the card information including a status of each of card associated with each of the local card managers;

storing the card information as stored data;

receiving a status change message associated with a change of the status of one or more of the cards; and

updating the stored data based on the status change message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving card information comprises receiving a power on reset signal.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving card information comprises receiving card information including a number of cards associated with each local card manager, a power state of each of the number of cards, and a type of card for each of the number of cards.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving card information comprises determining that a management unit indicator has been set.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving card information comprises receiving the card information including a status of one or more cards associated with one or more slots associated with each of the local card managers.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving a status change message comprises receiving a concatenated message.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the receiving a concatenated message comprises receiving a message including card information associated with the status of two or more cards.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving a status change message comprises validating the status change message.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving a status change message comprises receiving the status change message responsive to a request for the status change message.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the updating comprises:

determining that card information associated with the status change message varies from the stored data; and

updating the stored data based on the card information associated with the status change message.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the second card manager protocol comprises:

if a status change has occurred with one or more of multiple cards operably coupled to the first local card manager, generating a status change message; and

communicating the status change message to a local card manager designated as the management unit.