摘要:
A network processor useful in network switch apparatus and methods of operating such a processor in which data flow handling and flexibility is enhanced by the cooperation of a plurality of interface processors formed on a semiconductor substrate. The interface processors provide data paths for inbound and outbound data flow and operate under the control of instructions stored in an instruction store formed on the semiconductor substrate.
摘要:
A method and system for queueing data within a data storage device including a set of storage blocks each having an address, a pointer field, and a data field. This set of storage blocks comprises a linked list of associated storage blocks and also a free pool of available storage blocks. The storage device further includes a tail register for tracking an empty tail block from which a data object is enqueued into the linked list. A request to enqueue a data object into the linked list is received within the data storage system. In response to the data enqueue request, an available storage block from the free pool is selected and associated with the tail register. A single write operation is then required to write the data object into the data field of a current tail block and to write the address of the selected storage block into the pointer field of the current tail block, such that the selected storage block becomes a new tail block to which the tail register points.
摘要:
The ability of network processors to move data to and from dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips used in computer systems is enhanced in several respects. In one aspect of the invention, two double data rate DRAMS are used in parallel to double the bandwidth for increased throughput of data. The movement of data is further improved by setting 4 banks of full ‘read’ and 4 banks of full ‘write’ by the network processor for every repetition of the DRAM time clock. A scheme for randomized ‘read’ and ‘write’ access by the network processor is disclosed. This scheme is particularly applicable to networks such as Ethernet that utilize variable frame sizes.
摘要:
A bandwidth conserving queue manager for a FIFO buffer is provided, preferably on an ASIC chip and preferably including separate DRAM storage that maintains a FIFO queue which can extend beyond the data storage space of the FIFO buffer to provide additional data storage space as needed. FIFO buffers are used on the ASIC chip to store and retrieve multiple queue entries. As long as the total size of the queue does not exceed the storage available in the buffers, no additional data storage is needed. However, when some predetermined amount of the buffer storage space in the FIFO buffers is exceeded, data are written to and read from the additional data storage, and preferably in packets which are of optimum size for maintaining peak performance of the data storage device and which are written to the data storage device in such a way that they are queued in a first-in, first-out (FIFO) sequence of addresses. Preferably, the data are written to and are read from the DRAM in burst mode.
摘要:
An apparatus is disclosed for transporting control information in a communications system. The apparatus comprises a network processor, a control point processor operatively coupled to the network processor, and a guided frame generated by the control point processor. The guided frame comprises a first section in which frame control information is placed and is used by the network processor to update at least one control register within the network processor; a second section carrying correlators assigned by the control point processor to correlate guided frame responses with their requests; a third section carrying one or a sequence of guided commands; and an End delimiter guided command.
摘要:
A control sub system, a plurality of interface processors, a plurality of media interfaces a plurality of queues are operatively coupled and responsive to a control signal to move data from a memory to a selected one of the plurality of queues.
摘要:
A network switch apparatus, components for such an apparatus, and methods of operating such an apparatus in which data flow handling and flexibility is enhanced by the cooperation of a control point and a plurality of interface processors formed on a semiconductor substrate. The control point and interface processors together form a network processor capable of cooperating with other elements including an optional switching fabric device in executing instructions directing the flow of data in a network.
摘要:
A system and method of moving information units from an output flow control toward a data transmission network in a prioritized sequence which accommodates several different levels of service. The present invention includes a method and system for scheduling the egress of processed information units (or frames) from a network processing unit according to service based on a weighted fair queue where position in the queue is adjusted after each service based on a weight factor and the length of frame, a process which provides a method for and system of interaction between different calendar types is used to provide minimum bandwidth, best effort bandwidth, weighted fair queuing service, best effort peak bandwidth, and maximum burst size specifications. The present invention permits different combinations of service that can be used to create different QoS specifications. The “base” services which are offered to a customer in the example described in this patent application are minimum bandwidth, best effort, peak and maximum burst size (or MBS), which may be combined as desired. For example, a user could specify minimum bandwidth plus best effort additional bandwidth and the system would provide this capability by putting the flow queue in both the NLS and WFQ calendar. The system includes tests when a flow queue is in multiple calendars to determine when it must come out.
摘要:
The transport protocol for communicating between general purpose processors acting as contact points and network processors in a packet processing environment such as Ethernet is provided. In such an environment, there is at least one single control point processor (CP) and a plurality of network processors (NP), sometimes referred to as blades. A typical system could contain two to sixteen network processors, and each network processor connects to a plurality of devices which communicate with each other over a network transport, such as Ethernet. The CP typically controls the functionality and the functioning of the network processors to function in a way that connects one end user with another, whether or not the end user is on the same network processor or a different network processor. There are three types of communication provided; first, there is communication generally referred to as control services and normally there will be only one pico processor which operates as a GCH (guided cell handler) and only one that operates as a guided tree handler (GTH). A path is provided for the controls to the GCH and the GTH commands, and a separate path is provided for the data frames between the GDH's (general data handler) and the CP.
摘要:
A network switch apparatus, components for such an apparatus, and methods of operating such an apparatus in which data flow handling and flexibility is enhanced by the cooperation among a plurality of interface processors and a suite of peripheral elements formed on a semiconductor substrate. The interface processors and peripherals together form a network processor capable of cooperating with other elements including an optional switching fabric device in executing instructions directing the flow of data in a network.