Patent ID: 11916781
Assignee: HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 10:
11. A method, comprising:
maintaining, in a network interface controller (NIC), an output buffer comprising a plurality of cells, wherein a respective cell is a unit of storage in the output buffer;
receiving, via a host interface, a command from a host device; generating a packet based on the command;
determining whether the packet is a multi-cell packet;
in response to determining that the packet is a multi-cell packet, wherein a first data structure comprises entries for a plurality of packet groups, wherein each packet group corresponds to a distinct maximum packet size of a plurality of maximum packet sizes:
determining, for the packet based on a size of the packet, a packet group which corresponds to a smallest of the maximum packet sizes that can accommodate the packet;
allocating, based on an entry in the first data structure for the determined packet group, a virtual index for the packet;
reserving, for the packet based on the size of the packet, a set of cells in the output buffer;
storing, in the entry in the first data structure for the determined packet group: the virtual index for the packet; and a set of physical indices of the reserved cells, wherein the physical indices are stored in slots of the entry;
inserting the packet into the reserved cells of the output buffer; and
responsive to inserting the packet into the reserved cells of the output buffer, storing, in a second data structure: a packet handle associated with the packet; offset information associated with the virtual index; and an identifier of a message-fragmenting unit selected for forwarding the packet.