Patent ID: 9391924
Filing Date: 2016-07-12
CPC Classification: G06F,H04L

Claim Text:
1. An Ethernet interface module configured to couple a device to an Ethernet network arrangement, said Ethernet interface module comprising: a first full duplex port comprising a first PHY and a first MAC; said first duplex port comprising a receive portion and a transmit portion; said first full duplex port is operable to transfer packet frames between a network and a device; each said frame comprises a destination address field, a source address field, and a command field; a first path coupling said receive portion of said first duplex port to said transmit portion of said first full duplex port; a queue disposed in said first path; said queue is operable to store a first predetermined number of bytes of said received frame; said queue operates such that concurrent with a received frame being received via said received portion, said received frame traverses said queue and is provided to said transmit portion as a transmitted frame; evaluation apparatus coupled to said queue, said evaluation apparatus determining whether said received frame is addressed to said device from a received destination address as received in a received frame from said receive portion; said evaluation apparatus comprises command identifications associated with variable commands; said evaluation apparatus comprises a unicast address for said device and one or more multicast addresses supported by said device; said evaluation apparatus operates to identify variable commands that apply to said device upon receiving a command identification in said command field after determining that said received frame is to be utilized with said device; read/write apparatus, said read/write apparatus operable such that if said evaluation apparatus determines that said destination address field of said received frame contains said unicast address, said read/write apparatus inserts a predetermined one of said one or more multicast addresses into said destination field of said transmitted frame in place of said destination address in said received frame.