Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Direct memory accessing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-31
2003-08-26
Gaffin, Jeffrey (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Direct memory accessing
C710S013000, C710S020000, C710S052000, C712S225000, C711S147000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06611882
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
An embodiment of the invention may include input/output data processing within a computer processor. More particularly, a messaging unit (MU) may be employed by a processor to pass inbound and outbound data messages between a peripheral and a memory.
2. Background Information
Electronic products may be thought of as those products that involve the controlled conduction of electrons or other charge carriers, especially through microprocessors. Examples of electronic products include radios, computers, work stations, and servers as well as those involved in high-end networking and storage technology. Just about all electronic products employ one or more microprocessors disposed within a chip located on a printed circuit board. The main central processing unit within the chip may include a host system having a host memory.
One type of processor within the host system may be an input/output (I/O) processor. Conventionally, the I/O processor processes an inbound request message to an I/O device by locating a requested package of data, identifying the I/O device, creating a control mechanism for the I/O device, ensuring that the data actually was transmitted to the I/O device, performing some clean up, and providing an outbound reply message to the host system that indicates to the host that the host request is complete.
To accomplish the above tasks, the I/O processor conventionally employs data handling and processing units such as a core processor and a local memory. These units generally may interact with one another across an internal bus of the I/O processor. A primary function of the core processor is to run applications that process data transferred to or from the I/O device. Conventionally, as a secondary function, the core processor processes I/O requests, both inbound and outbound.
When an inbound request message address is sent to an inbound post queue of the I/O processor through a messaging unit of the I/O processor, the core processor may either copy the inbound request message to the local memory or setup a direct memory access (DMA) unit to copy the inbound message to the local memory. The problem with these two approaches is that the time it takes for the core processor to receive, process, and copy the inbound request message is time taken away from the core processor in performing its primary function of running applications and processing the I/O requests. The same is true for outbound message passing.
The current trend for high-end networking and storage technology pushes more functionality down to lower-level device drivers, while demanding higher performance from microprocessors. As the demand for higher performing microprocessors increases, the demands on core processor time increase.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment includes a method of passing inbound messages to processor local memory. According to the embodiment, a message is received in a messaging unit within the processor. The message is fetched from the messaging unit. A free local message frame address is retrieved from the messaging unit. A direct memory access unit coupled to the messaging unit is set up. The message is then copied into the local memory of the I/O processor.
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Blakely , Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
Gaffin Jeffrey
Intel Corporation
Mai RiJue
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