US 9,317,289 B2Granted

Acknowledgement forwarding

AssigneeTelefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson (publ)

InventorsMichael Feng, Edward Ho, Edmund C. Chen, Robert Hathaway

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Abstract

A method for processing data packets in a pipeline and executed by a network processor. The pipeline includes a plurality of logical blocks, each logical block configured to process one stage of the pipeline. Each data packet includes a descriptor and a data. The network processor is coupled to a resource for storing the data. The method reduces latency and enables non-blocking processing of data packets by forwarding a unique identification of a write request from a first logical block to a subsequent second logical block in the pipeline, the write request to modify the data in the resource. The method includes receiving the descriptor for processing at the first logical block, generating the write request and the unique identification for the write request, transmitting the write request to the resource, and transmitting the unique identification towards the second logical block before an acknowledgement is returned by the resource.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A method executed by a network processor implementing a pipeline for processing a data packet, where the pipeline includes a plurality of logical blocks, where each of the plurality of logical blocks is configured to process a stage of the pipeline, where the data packet includes a descriptor and a data, and where the network processor is coupled to a resource for storing the data, the method to reduce latency and enable non-blocking processing of the data packet by forwarding a unique identification of a write request from a first logical block in the plurality of logical blocks to a second logical block in the plurality of logical blocks that is subsequent to the first logical block, the write request to modify the data in the resource, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving the descriptor of the data packet for processing at the first logical block in the pipeline executed by the network processor;
generating the write request and the unique identification of the write request at the first logical block;
transmitting the write request from the first logical block to the resource;
transmitting the unique identification from the first logical block toward the second logical block before an acknowledgment of the write request is returned by the resource;
receiving the unique identification at the second logical block;
monitoring for the acknowledgement of the write request from the resource at the second logical block;
processing the descriptor in response to receiving the acknowledgment of the write request;
and
transmitting the descriptor upstream in the pipeline for reprocessing at the first logical block in response to not receiving the acknowledgement after an amount of time has elapsed.

6 more elements

A network processor implementing a pipeline for processing a data packet, wherein the pipeline includes a plurality of logical blocks, wherein each of the plurality of logical blocks is configured to process a stage of the pipeline, wherein the data packet includes a descriptor and a data, and wherein the network processor is coupled to a resource for storing the data, the network processor to reduce latency and enable non-blocking processing of the data packet by forwarding a unique identification of a write request from a first logical block in the plurality of logical blocks to a second logical block in the plurality of logical blocks that is subsequent to the first logical block, the write request to modify the data in the resource, the network processor comprising:

a first receiver in the first logical block configured to receive the descriptor of the data packet for processing at the first logical block in the pipeline executed by the network processor;
a first processor in the first logical block configured to generate the write request and the unique identification of the write request;
and
a first transmitter in the first logical block coupled to the first processor in the first logical block and configured to transmit the write request from the first logical block to the resource, and further configured to transmit the unique identification from the first logical block toward the second logical block before an acknowledgment of the write request is returned by the resource;
a second receiver in the second logical block configured to receive the unique identification;
a monitor in the second logical block configured to monitor for the acknowledgement of the write request from the resource;
a second processor in the second logical block coupled to the monitor in the second logical block and configured to process the descriptor in response to receiving the acknowledgment of the write request;
and
a second transmitter in the second logical block configured to transmit the descriptor upstream in the pipeline for reprocessing at the first logical block in response to not receiving the acknowledgement after an amount of time has elapsed.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.