Patent ID: 7116707
Filing Date: 2006-10-03
Classification: H04M

Abstract:
1. A data communication interface comprising: a data bus; a resource internal state memory that stores internal state information for an existing data connection, the internal state information containing data transformation and data link control information developed by a data-handling resource over the course of the existing data connection; first and second data-handling resources connected to said data bus, to provide data transformation for one or more data connections, each data-handling resource connected to said resource internal state memory such that the internal state information from said first data-handling resource is savable in said resource internal state memory and is retrievable from said resource internal state memory by said second data-handling resource, where the internal state information is savable and retrievable over a bus separate from the data bus; and a data-handling resource controller that responds to one or more conditions indicating that data from a first data connection should no longer be directed to said first data-handling resource due to failure or removal of said first data-handling resource, by directing said data from said first data connection to said second data-handling resource without loss of said first data connection, where said first data-handling resource ceases to operate upon failure, the data-handling resource controller periodically saves internal state information associated with the first data-handling resource to the resource internal state memory and directly monitors the first data-handling resource to detect the failure or removal.