Network interface for changing byte alignment transferring on a host bus according to master and slave mode memory and i/o mapping requests

Abstract

A network interface for a workstation is configured to supply data to a host bus. The network interface includes a buffer memory for storing a data frame received from a network according to a first byte alignment. A bus interface unit is configured to output the data frame onto the host bus according to a second byte alignment based on a master or slave transfer request to access the buffer memory. The slave request to access the buffer memory may be in the form of either an I/O mapped or memory mapped request. A memory management unit includes request logic to receive the master and slave transfer requests and generate a generic request to access the buffer memory. The memory management unit is configured to transfer the data frame from the buffer memory in response to the generic request. The bus interface unit includes a byte packing circuit configured for changing a byte alignment of the data frame prior to its transfer to the host memory. The byte alignment is changed based on information associated with the generic request. Hence, the amount of logic necessary to service the various types of requests is minimized.