Apparatus and method for sharing I/O endpoints within a load store fabric by encapsulation of domain information in transaction layer packets

A switching apparatus for sharing input/output endpoints, the switching apparatus comprising:

• a first plurality of I/O ports, coupled to a plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) through a load-store fabric, each configured to route transactions between said plurality of OSDs and the switching apparatus;
• a second I/O port, coupled to a first shared input/output endpoint, wherein said first shared input/output endpoint is configured to request/complete said transactions for each of said plurality of OSDs;
• and
• core logic, coupled to said first plurality of I/O ports and said second I/O port, configured to route said transactions between said first plurality of I/O ports and said second I/O port, wherein said core logic designates a corresponding one of said plurality of OSDs according to a variant of a protocol, and wherein said variant comprises encapsulating an OS domain header within a transaction layer packet that otherwise comports with said protocol, and wherein said protocol provides for routing of said transactions only for a single OSD.