National Semiconductor Corporation

Unisys Corporation

Hi/fn Inc.

Apptitude, Inc.

James F Torgerson

Russell S Dietz

Andrew A Koppenhaver

James R Hamstra

David C Brief

Haig A Sarkissian

Walter R Friedrich

William H Bares

Joseph R Maixner

Larry L Byers

John A Miller

Dennis R Konrad

Ralph E Sipple

Thomas P Cooper

Robert E Swenson

Michael J Hill

Hans Christian Mikkelsen

Armin Amrhein

Peter John Hancock

Ferris T Price, Deceased

John R Jordan

Joseph E Kessler

Anthony P vonArx

Ian R Hepburn

Lonny R Lebahn

Robert T Sandelands

Donald T Bordsen

Robert F Esson

A monitor for and a method of examining packets passing through a connection point on a computer network. Each packets conforms to one or more protocols. The method includes receiving a packet from a packet acquisition device and performing one or more parsing/extraction operations on the packet to create a parser record comprising a function of selected portions of the packet. The parsing/extraction operations depend on one or more of the protocols to which the packet conforms. The method further includes looking up a flow-entry database containing flow-entries for previously encountered conversational flows. The lookup uses the selected packet portions and determining if the packet is of an existing flow. If the packet is of an existing flow, the method classifies the packet as belonging to the found existing flow, and if the packet is of a new flow, the method stores a new flow-entry for the new flow in the flow-entry database, including identifying information for future packets to be identified with the new flow-entry. For the packet of an existing flow, the method updates the flow-entry of the existing flow. Such updating may include storing one or more statistical measures. Any stage of a flow, state is maintained, and the method performs any state processing for an identified state to further the process of identifying the flow. The method thus examines each and every packet passing through the connection point in real time until the application program associated with the conversational flow is determined.

Method and apparatus for monitoring traffic in a network

A method of performing protocol specific operations on a packet passing through a connection point on a computer network. The packet contents conform to protocols of a layered model wherein the protocol at a at a particular layer level may include one or a set of child protocols defined for that level. The method includes receiving the packet and receiving a set of protocol descriptions for protocols may be used in the packet. A protocol description for a particular protocol at a particular layer level includes any child protocols of the particular protocol, and for any child protocol, where in the packet information related to the particular child protocol may be found. A protocol description also includes any protocol specific operations to be performed on the packet for the particular protocol at the particular layer level. The method includes performing the protocol specific operations on the packet specified by the set of protocol descriptions based on the base protocol of the packet and the children of the protocols used in the packet. A particular embodiment includes providing the protocol descriptions in a high-level protocol description language, and compiling to the descriptions into a data structure. The compiling may further include compressing the data structure into a compressed data structure. The protocol specific operations may include parsing and extraction operations to extract identifying information. The protocol specific operations may also include state processing operations defined for a particular state of a conversational flow of the packet.

Processing protocol specific information in packets specified by a protocol description language

An outboard file cache extended processing complex for use with a host data processing system for providing closely coupled file caching capability is described. Data movers at the host provide the hardware interface to the outboard file cache, provide the formatting of file data and commands, and control the reading and writing of data from the extended processing complex. Host interface adapters receive file access commands sent from the data movers and provide cache access control. Directly coupled fiber optic links couple each of the data movers to the associated one of the host interface adapters and from the nonvolatile memory. A nonvolatile memory to store redundant copies of the cached file data is described. A system interface including bidirectional bus structures and index processors that control the routing of data signals, provides control of storage and retrieval of file cache data derived from host interface adapters and from the nonvolatile memory. Multiple power domains are described together with independent clock distribution within each power domain. The independent clock distribution sources are synchronized with each other. A system for fault tolerant redundant storage of file cache data redundantly in at least two portions of the nonvolatile file cache storage is described.

Fault tolerant extended processing complex for redundant nonvolatile

A physical layer controller for use in a data transmission network is disclosed which includes an automatic scrubbing arrangement that is activated upon the occurrence of a physical layer controller reconfiguration. The transmitter output port as well as each channel output of the physical layer controller has an output dirty flag associated therewith. Similarly, the input port as well as each channel input has an associated input dirty flag. A scrubbing arrangement automatically scrubs certain outputs after a configuration change. More specifically, in the absence of a blocking condition after a configuration change, the scrubbing arrangement will automatically scrub each output which has a new source and one of: 1) its associated output dirty flag is set to a first level; and 2) it is connected to an new source which has its associated input dirty flag set to a first level. In a method aspect, output dirty flags are set for each output that has the potential to transmits a data frame. Outputs which have data frame detection available are considered to have the potential to transmit a data frame only when they sense a frame start. Outputs that do not have data frame detection available, are considered to have the potential of having transmitted a data frame anytime they are enabled and coupled to a valid input. The input dirty flags are set for each input that is connected to an output for which the output dirty flag is set.

System for physical layer controllers for performing automatic hardware

An apparatus and method for managing a number of data processing resources to produce one or more independent and separate data processing partitions. Each partition is defined as a proper subset of the total inventory of available data processing resources. Each partition is controlled by a system control facility. All system control facilities communicate with a site configuration management system, which defines and redefines the composition of each partition. The site configuration management system can move resources from one partition to another as required. Preferably, the system control facilities and the site configuration management system are industry standard personal computers which communicate via a local area network.

Method and apparatus for performing system resource partitioning

In a communication network, an efficient link error monitor is provided that completely relieves the microprocessor of computing the link error rate and comparing it with link error rate thresholds. The link error rate computation and the comparison are performed by the physical layer of a communication station. The physical layer generates an interrupt to the microprocessor only if a threshold is crossed and a microprocessor action may be required. The physical layer includes a number of registers that can be conveniently written by the microprocessor to designate the thresholds and monitor the link errors. The link error rate is estimated using a simple estimator that provides a realistic link error rate estimate even at early stages of operation when few link errors have been detected and when, therefore, little statistical information on the link error rate exists.

Link error monitoring

A controllable configuration management (CFM) state machine user interface is disclosed for use in the physical layer controller of a station or concentrator capable or insertion into a data transmission network that is capable of operating substantially in accordance with the FDDI protocol. In one aspect of the invention, the physical layer controller includes a null configuration register, a join configuration register and a loop configuration register. The null configuration register is capable of storing information indicative of a desired configuration of the physical layer controller when the CFM state machine is in a null configuration. Similarly, the join and loop configuration register are capable of storing information indicative of desired configurations when the CFM state machine is in the join and loop configurations respectively.

FDDI configuration management state machine controller

A multiprocessor data processing system is implemented with processors, each of which may request for a temporary time the exclusive lock on an object which is stored on a data base. To achieve this a lock processor synchronizes the locking and unlocking of the objects. The requesting processor directs the storage of the object from the data base into a selected high performance storage unit, where it has exclusive rights to modify or write into the object until the object is unlocked by the processor. An audit tape or disk records all modifications made to any object during a transaction. A non-volatile cache memory is inserted in the audit trail to store a before-look image of the object that resides in the high performance storage unit. Data compaction occurs by comparison of the before-look image with an after-look image to provide a difference image, which is supplied to an audit buffer that is coupled to the audit tape. The locking processor may unlock the secured object once the after-look image has been committed from either a stored version in the non-volatile cache or from a high performance main memory unit to the data base disk. The difference image and the after-look image associated with the difference image may then be stored in the non-volatile cache, and provided to the audit tape or disk and the data base disk in a sequence which is independent of the operating sequence of the requesting processor.

Cache memory with data compaction for use in the audit trail of a data

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Andover, MN, United States of America

James F Torgerson