US 2002/0161919 A1 · Fast-path processing for receiving data on TCP connection offload devices

Abstract

A network interface device provides a fast-path that avoids most host TCP and IP protocol processing for most messages. The host retains a fallback slow-path processing capability. In one embodiment, generation of a response to a TCP/IP packet received onto the network interface device is accelerated by determining the TCP and IP source and destination information from the incoming packet, retrieving an appropriate template header, using a finite state machine to fill in the TCP and IP fields in the template header without sequential TCP and IP protocol processing, combining the filled-in template header with a data payload to form a packet, and then outputting the packet from the network interface device by pushing a pointer to the packet onto a transmit queue. A transmit sequencer retrieves the pointer from the transmit queue and causes the corresponding packet to be output from the network interface device.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system for receiving information from a network, the system comprising:

a first device coupled to the network and receiving a packet including data and protocol information from the network, the first device including a mechanism that processes the protocol information, and
a second device coupled to the network and including a processor executing instructions that establish a TCP connection,
wherein the data is placed in a destination by the first device when the first device detremines that the packet corresponds to the TCP connection.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application

10/093,042Filed 6 May 2002

Priority

14 Oct 1997

Published

31 Oct 2002

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04L 69/16
Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass:…
H04L 49/90
Packet switching elements: buffering arrangements
H04L 49/901
Buffering arrangements: using storage descriptor, e.g. read or write pointers
H04L 67/62
Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and…:…

Fast-path processing for receiving data on TCP connection offload devices

Life of this patent

Fast-path processing for receiving data on TCP connection offload devices

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20