Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.P.

Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

Jonathan Manuel Watts

Bruce E LaVigne

John Alan Wickeraad

Lewis Stephen Kootstra

Mark Gooch

Alan R Albrecht

Bruce Edward LaVigne

Jonathan Michael Seely

Richard Brabant

Stuart Johnston

A plurality of work requests may be received from a plurality of clients. A plurality of credits may be distributed among the plurality of clients. The plurality of credits may be distributed in response to a refreshed credit cycle. At least one of the work requests to be processed may be selected based on an amount of the credits available for the clients. An amount of credits to distribute to the clients may be determined in response to the refreshed credit cycle based on an amount of the credits used to process the at least one work request during a last credit cycle compared to a system credit capacity of the system.

Credit distribution to clients

Devices, systems, and methods are provided involving queue management. One embodiment includes a computing device having a priority aware queue. In this embodiment, the device includes a queue having a number of counters associated therewith to monitor a number of items each having a classification level associated therewith. The device also includes computer executable instructions to review each of the number of counters to determine whether to discard the item based upon whether at least one of the counters indicates that a higher classification item is being held in the queue.

Priority aware queue

Network devices and methods are provided involving a support chip in association with network chips. One embodiment includes a network device having a processor, a high speed interconnect, and a number of network chips coupled to one another through the high speed interconnect. The number of network chips include a conduit port which can be selectively chosen to exchange packets, received to the number of network chips, with the processor. The support chip is coupled to the number of network chips in association with selecting a conduit port on one of the number of network chips to exchange packets with the processor.

Support chip for handling network chips on a network device

A method for allocating a resource among a plurality of consumers of the resource is described herein. For each consumer of the plurality of consumers, a configurable weight associated with the consumer is determined. For each consumer of the plurality of consumers, credits assigned to the consumer at a first interval of a plurality of variable intervals are determined. The credits may be assigned in proportion to the configurable weight associated with the consumer. A consumer is selected for servicing based on the credits of the consumer. The selected consumer is serviced.

Method for allocating a resource among consumers in proportion to configurable weights

Buffer management in a network device. A new data packet is received at a packet buffer queue of the network switch, wherein the new data packet is a portion of a burst block. If the packet buffer queue is full, a data packet from within the packet buffer queue that is not a last sequential data packet of a burst block is dropped.

Buffer management in a network device

Network devices and methods are provided for device monitoring. One embodiment includes a network device having a processor, a high speed interconnect and a number of network chips. The number of network chips are coupled to one another through the high speed interconnect. The number of network chips have a conduit port which can be selectively chosen to exchange packets, received to any network chip, with the processor.

Conduit port for network chips

Systems, methods, and devices are provided for moving packets on a network device. One method includes receiving packets to a number of network chips, the number of network chips having a conduit port which can be selectively chosen to exchange packets with a processor responsible for processing packets. The method includes adding data for additional functionality to certain packets. Adding data includes encapsulating the certain packets to maintain an appearance of a certain packet format.

Encapsulating packets for network chip conduit port

A network device is provided which can include logic associated with the operations of a data communications protocol stack. The logic can operate to receive a packet to the network device and apply a first error checking technique, having a first modification complexity, to a header of the packet. The logic can apply a second error checking technique, having a second modification complexity that is greater than the first modification complexity, to a body of the packet. A first verification key can be provided to a first header associated with the packet and a second verification key, having a different modification complexity from the first verification key, can be provided for a second header associated with the packet.

Packet protection for header modification

A method for testing a network device having modules for receiving and sending data packets in a network includes generating in the network device at least one internal data structure associated with a data packet received by the network device from the network. A predefined action on the network device is then preformed responsive to the internal data structure indicating that the data packet satisfies a predefined condition.

Method for testing network devices using breakpointing

A generic interface for a module, method of providing a generic interface, and a module controller system providing a register slave having a generic interface are described. The interface includes an addressable interface, a control interface, and a module interface configured to interact with two or more module configurations. The interface has multiple operating modes at least one of which includes a monitor mode. The method includes receiving an address from a register master identifying the module address to be monitored, reading the received module address content from the module, and transmitting the read content to the monitor port. The system includes a register master, a register slave connected with the register master and adapted to connect with the module, and a monitor port connected with the register slave to receive the monitored module address contents. The register slave configured to interact with two or more module configurations and having a monitor mode for monitoring a specified module address.

Generic interface for operating modes of modules

In accordance with one embodiment, a method re-orders requests for shared resources. The method includes receiving requests for accessing the shared resources from one or more requestors, wherein a plurality of requests may be received from each requestor; arbitrating between the plurality of requests in such a way so that the plurality of requests from each requestor may be re-ordered in non-FIFO order; and selecting a next request to access the shared resources based on the re-ordering of requests. In accordance with another embodiment, a system re-orders requests for shared resources. The system includes one or more requestors for sending requests for accessing the shared resources, wherein a plurality of requests may be received from each requestor; and an arbiter for arbitrating between the plurality of requests in such a way so that the plurality of requests from each requestor may be re-ordered in non-FIFO order.

Re-ordering requests for shared resources

One embodiment comprises an apparatus for reordering requests for access to a subdivided resource. The apparatus includes a non-FIFO request buffer for temporarily storing the requests for access, a selector for selecting a next request from the request buffer, and a mechanism for outputting the next request to a controller for the resource. Another embodiment comprises a method for reordering requests for access to a subdivided resource. The method includes temporarily storing the requests for access, selecting a next request from among the stored requests in non-FIFO order, and outputting the next request to a controller for the resource.

Reordering requests for access to subdivided resource

A method, system and circuit for performing a round robin arbitration, which includes an input operable to receive a plurality of requests, a conditional request masking logic to selectively send the plurality of requests to a priority encoder, a priority encoder to output a request from the selected plurality of requests from the conditional request masking logic for servicing, and a storage clement to store the most recently serviced request. Wherein the conditional request masking logic sends any request from the plurality of requests that has a lower priority according to said priority encoder than the most recently serviced request if such a request exists, otherwise all requests are sent to the priority encoder.

System, method and circuit for performing round robin arbitration

A method and apparatus for arbitrating for access to a group of shared resources that are communicating with multiple requesters over a shared communications link while minimizing latency and maximizing link utilization is applicable to any situation where more than one device communicates with more than one resource over a single communication link and where the cycle time of the resource is greater than the time the link is needed for the transfer by the resource. The invention maintains information about the state of the shared resources. This allows the provision of an arbitration algorithm that uses the shared communications link more efficiently. A shared resource typically requires some set-up time before transferring its data and also requires some recovery time after its data are transferred before another request may be processed. The invention provides careful selection of the sequence in which requests are serviced which allows one resource to set-up while another resource is still transferring data, and which allows the first resource to complete its recovery while the second resource is transferring data.

System for arbitrating access from multiple requestors to multiple shared resources over a shared communications link and giving preference for accessing idle shared resources

Growing community of inventors

Folsom, CA, United States of America

Jonathan Manuel Watts