The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 08, 2013
Filed:
Mar. 08, 2011
Shareef F. Alshinnawi, Durham, NC (US);
John J. Struble, Jr., Mebane, NC (US);
Edward S. Suffern, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
J. Mark Weber, Wake Forest, NC (US);
Shareef F. Alshinnawi, Durham, NC (US);
John J. Struble, Jr., Mebane, NC (US);
Edward S. Suffern, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
J. Mark Weber, Wake Forest, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A networking system includes a host adapter card including a card connector having four transceiver pairs and a mechanical connector configuration, and a controller having control logic for detecting whether a single-channel connection or a four-channel connection is made to the card connector. The controller further includes control logic for communicating over a network using a default, four-channel-protocol in response to detecting the four-channel connection or using an alternative, single-channel-protocol in response to detecting the single-channel connection. The system further includes an alternative-network compatibility device including a first connector configured for releasably mating with the card connector and a second connector having a different mechanical connector configuration than the card connector. The alternative-network compatibility device includes a transceiver lane from the first connector end to the second connector end, which transceiver lane is placed in connection with one of the four transceiver pairs when mated with the card connector.