Dual-port ethernet traffic management for protocol conversion
First Claim
1. An apparatus with Ethernet traffic management for protocol conversion, said apparatus comprising:
- a primary central processing unit (CPU) having first and second Ethernet interfaces;
a protocol translation CPU having third and fourth Ethernet interfaces;
first and second Ethernet communications interfaces;
a manageable Ethernet switch havingfirst and second ports coupled to the first and second Ethernet interfaces of the primary CPU, respectively,third and fourth ports coupled to the third and fourth Ethernet interfaces of the protocol translation CPU, respectively, andfifth and sixth ports coupled to the first and second Ethernet communications interfaces, respectively;
whereinEthernet traffic having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the first or second Ethernet communications interfaces and the first or second Ethernet interfaces of the primary CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch, andEthernet traffic not having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the first or second Ethernet communications interfaces and the protocol translation CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch, whereby the protocol translation CPU converts the Ethernet traffic having the unrecognized protocol to Ethernet traffic having the recognized protocol and then sending the recognized protocol converted Ethernet traffic to the primary CPU.
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Accused Products
Abstract
At least two communications cards are utilized to communicate with at least two Ethernet ports, each having unique MAC and IP addresses, and at least two different protocols. At least two central processing units (CPUs) are coupled to the at least two communications cards through a manageable Ethernet switch. One of the at least two CPUs is a primary (main) CPU and is capable of communicating using a limited number of native Ethernet protocols. Another one or more of the at least two CPUs is dedicated to performing conversion of additional, more complicated protocols to be sent to the primary CPU in at least one of its native Ethernet protocols. This off-loads the primary CPU from having to handle these additional, complicated protocols, thereby reducing the amount of protocol software/firmware required to be integrated with the primary CPU with a subsequent savings in boot-up time and background software overhead.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. An apparatus with Ethernet traffic management for protocol conversion, said apparatus comprising:
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a primary central processing unit (CPU) having first and second Ethernet interfaces; a protocol translation CPU having third and fourth Ethernet interfaces; first and second Ethernet communications interfaces; a manageable Ethernet switch having first and second ports coupled to the first and second Ethernet interfaces of the primary CPU, respectively, third and fourth ports coupled to the third and fourth Ethernet interfaces of the protocol translation CPU, respectively, and fifth and sixth ports coupled to the first and second Ethernet communications interfaces, respectively; wherein Ethernet traffic having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the first or second Ethernet communications interfaces and the first or second Ethernet interfaces of the primary CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch, and Ethernet traffic not having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the first or second Ethernet communications interfaces and the protocol translation CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch, whereby the protocol translation CPU converts the Ethernet traffic having the unrecognized protocol to Ethernet traffic having the recognized protocol and then sending the recognized protocol converted Ethernet traffic to the primary CPU. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus with Ethernet traffic management for protocol conversion, said apparatus comprising:
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a primary central processing unit (CPU) having first and second Ethernet interfaces; a protocol translation CPU having third and fourth Ethernet interfaces; first and second Ethernet communications interfaces; an analog switch having first and second positions, wherein a common of the analog switch is coupled to the first Ethernet communications interface; a manageable Ethernet switch having a first port coupled to the first Ethernet interface of the primary CPU, a second port coupled to the second Ethernet interface of the primary CPU, third and fourth ports coupled to the third and fourth Ethernet interfaces of the protocol translation CPU, respectively, a sixth port coupled to the second Ethernet communications interface, a fifth port coupled to the first position of the analog switch, and a seventh port coupled to the second position of the analog switch; wherein Ethernet traffic having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the second Ethernet communications interface and the first Ethernet interface of the primary CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch when the analog switch is in the first position, Ethernet traffic not having a protocol recognized by the primary CPU is routed between the second Ethernet communications interface and the protocol translation CPU by the manageable Ethernet switch, whereby the protocol translation CPU converts the Ethernet traffic having the unrecognized protocol to Ethernet traffic having the recognized protocol and then sending the recognized protocol converted Ethernet traffic to the primary CPU over the first Ethernet interface; and the first Ethernet communications interface is coupled to the fifth port of the manageable Ethernet switch when the analog switch is in the first position and to the seventh port of the manageable Ethernet switch when the analog switch is in the second position. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for Ethernet traffic management and protocol conversion, said method comprising the steps of:
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coupling first and second Ethernet communications interfaces to a manageable Ethernet switch; determining with the manageable Ethernet switch whether Ethernet traffic from the first or the second Ethernet communications interfaces has a protocol recognized by a primary CPU; routing the Ethernet traffic having the protocol recognized by the primary CPU to the primary CPU with the manageable Ethernet switch; routing the Ethernet traffic not having the protocol recognized by the primary CPU to a protocol translation CPU for translating the unrecognized protocol to the protocol recognized by the primary CPU with the manageable Ethernet switch; and routing the translated Ethernet traffic from the protocol translation CPU to the primary CPU with the manageable Ethernet switch. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification