Data-receiving port and method for programmable updating of available buffer space information in a communications channel

Abstract

A data-receiving port and method according to embodiments of the invention allow information concerning available buffer space in the receiving port of a communications channel to be transferred to a sending port. The timing of the information transferred can be programmed to depend on the status of previous data transfers from the sending port. This programmability allows the information transfers from the receiving port to be tailored to the specific characteristics of the data traffic being serviced. Therefore, the tradeoff between having enough information being transferred to a sending port to keep it apprised of the state of the buffer, and limiting that information so that data traffic from the receiving port to the sending port is not significantly impacted, can be managed effectively.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.