Processing replies to request packets in an advanced switching context

An apparatus that communicates with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the apparatus comprising:

• a receive engine that receives data packets from the AS fabric, and that decides to store at least some information from the data packets in a ring buffer;
• a timer that alerts a processor at periods of time;
• a counter that alerts the processor after a number of data packets has been received;
• and
• a register that stores status data that corresponds to a fullness of the ring buffer, the status data being usable by the processor to access the ring buffer at the periods of time or after the number of data packets has been received.

A method of communicating with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the method comprising:

• generating a request packet for transmission to the AS fabric, the request packet having a first transaction identifier associated therewith;
• receiving a reply packet from the AS fabric in response to the request packet, the reply packet having a second transaction identifier associated therewith;
• and
• comparing the first transaction identifier to the second transaction identifier;
• wherein, if the first transaction identifier matches the second transaction identifier, the method further comprises storing data associated with the reply packet at an address associated with the first transaction identifier, the data being stored in association with the first transaction identifier.

A method performed by a device that communicates with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the method comprising:

• receiving a data packet from the AS fabric, the data packet for reading from a local memory of the device or writing to the local memory, the data packet comprising a header and a payload, the header identifying an AS end node device that issued the data packet;
• parsing the header from the payload;
• storing the header in a first location in the local memory, the first location for providing notification to a processor associated with the device;
• and
• storing the payload in a second location in the local memory.

A method for use on a device that communicates with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the method comprising:

• receiving data packets from the AS fabric;
• storing at least some information from the data packets in a ring buffer;
• alerting a processor at periods of time;
• alerting the processor after a number of data packets has been received;
• and
• storing status data that corresponds to a fullness of the ring buffer, the status data being usable by the processor to access the ring buffer at the periods of time or after the number of data packets has been received.

An article comprising a machine-readable medium that stores instructions for use in communicating with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the instructions causing a machine to:

• generate a request packet for transmission to the AS fabric, the request packet having a first transaction identifier associated therewith;
• receive a reply packet from the AS fabric in response to the request packet, the reply packet having a second transaction identifier associated therewith;
• and
• compare the first transaction identifier to the second transaction identifier;
• wherein, if the first transaction identifier matches the second transaction identifier, the instructions cause the machine to store data associated with the reply packet at an address associated with the first transaction identifier, the data being stored in association with the first transaction identifier.

An article comprising a machine-readable medium that stores instructions for use in communicating with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the instructions causing a machine to:

• receive a data packet from the AS fabric, the data packet for reading from a local memory associated with the machine or writing to the local memory, the data packet comprising a header and a payload, the header identifying an AS end node device that issued the data packet;
• parse the header from the payload;
• store the header in a first location in the local memory, the first location for providing notification to a processor associated with the machine;
• and
• store the payload in a second location in the local memory.

An article comprising a machine-readable medium for use in communicating with an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the instructions causing a machine to:

• receive data packets from the AS fabric;
• store at least some information from the data packets in a ring buffer;
• alert a processor at periods of time;
• alert the processor after a number of data packets has been received;
• and
• store status data that corresponds to a fullness of the ring buffer, the status data being usable by the processor to access the ring buffer at the periods of time or after the number of data packets has been received.

A storage system that passes data across an advanced switching (AS) fabric, the storage system comprising:

• a first server to manage the storage system;
• and
• plural data servers, each of the plural data servers being in communication with the first server via the AS fabric, the plural data servers each containing one or more disk drives to store data accessible via the AS fabric;
• wherein the first server comprises:
• a transmit engine that generates a read request packet for transmission to a target data server on the AS fabric, the read request packet for accessing data stored on a disk drive of the target data server, the transmit engine associating a first transaction identifier with the read request packet;
• and
• a receive engine that receives a reply packet in response to the read request packet, the reply packet containing a second transaction identifier, the receive engine comparing the first transaction identifier to the second transaction identifier, wherein, if the first transaction identifier matches the second transaction identifier, the receive engine decides to store data associated with the reply packet at an address associated with the first transaction identifier, the data being stored in association with the first transaction identifier.

A network containing an advanced switching (AS) fabric and an end node device, the end node device comprising:

• a processor that generates a descriptor in response to a condition on the network, and that stores the descriptor in a queue, the descriptor containing information used to build a read request packet for obtaining information on the condition from a target network device;
• and
• a protocol interface (PI) engine that retrieves the descriptor from the queue, and that uses the descriptor to build the read request packet for transmission the target network device via the AS fabric, the PI engine comprising:
• a transmit engine that generates the read request packet from the descriptor, the read request packet for accessing data stored on a disk drive of the target network device, the transmit engine associating a first transaction identifier with the read request packet;
• and
• a receive engine that receives a reply packet in response to the read request packet, the reply packet containing a second transaction identifier, the receive engine comparing the first transaction identifier to the second transaction identifier, wherein, if the first transaction identifier matches the second transaction identifier, the receive engine decides to store data from the reply packet at an address associated with the first transaction identifier, the data being stored in association with the first transaction identifier.