Network adapter with TCP windowing support
Patent 6788704 Issued on September 7, 2004. Estimated Expiration Date: 
August 5, 2019. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
August 5, 2019. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesMethod and apparatus for updating host memory in an adapter to minimize host CPU overhead in servicing an interrupt Offload of TCP segmentation to a smart adapter Method and apparatus for interrupt load balancing for powerPC processors Efficient error control for wireless packet transmissions Receiver initiated recovery algorithm (RIRA) for the layer 2 tunneling protocol (L2TP) Patent #: 6487689 InventorAssigneeApplicationNo. 09369500 filed on 08/05/1999US Classes:370/465, Adaptive370/230, Control of data admission to the network370/235, Flow control of data transmission through a network370/395.4, Assigning period of time for information to be transmitted (e.g., scheduling)710/267, Processor status714/749Retransmission if no ACK returnedExaminersPrimary: Ton, DangAssistant: Hom, Shick Attorney, Agent or FirmInternational ClassH04J 316AbstractA network adapter and corresponding method for its use are disclosed. The network adapter has an operational mode that allows a host CPU to offload transmission of a block of data to the adapter. The adapter segments the block into fragments, and builds a data packet for each fragment. The adapter transmits these packets with an adapter-implemented flow control. This flow control uses: a context engine that tracks flow control variables for a “context” established for the block; a context memory for storing the variables; and a receive filter that updates flow control information for the block based on ACK packets received from the remote endpoint receiving the data packets.Because the network adapter implements flow control for data blocks that it segments, intermediate ACK packets corresponding to that block can be intercepted by the adapter, before they pass to the host, conserving host resources. An added advantage is that the host CPU can offload data blocks larger than the remote endpoint's receive window size, since the adapter can follow the transmit window and transmit packets at appropriate intervals. This further decreases load on the host CPU, decreases latency, and improves bandwidth utilization.Other References
Field of SearchDATA FLOW CONGESTION PREVENTION OR CONTROLControl of data admission to the network Flow control of data transmission through a network Assigning period of time for information to be transmitted (e.g., scheduling) Based on bandwidth allocation (e.g., Weighted Round Robin) Based on priority Adapting detail (e.g., converting to/from ATM, or detail of ATM Adaption Layers (AALs)) Having detail of switch memory reading/writing Having input or output storage or both Adaptive Assignment of variable bandwidth or time period for transmission or reception NETWORK COMPUTER CONFIGURING Reconfiguring Initializing INTERRUPT PROCESSING Programmable interrupt processing Processor status Digital data error correction Request for retransmission Retransmission if no ACK returned Feedback to transmitter for comparison | |
