Patent ID: 8102843
Filing Date: 2012-01-24
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. 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 through a PCI Express fabric, each configured to route PCI Express transactions between said plurality of operating system domains 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 PCI Express transactions for each of said plurality of operating system domains; and core logic, coupled to said first plurality of I/O ports and said second I/O port, configured to route said PCI Express transactions between said first plurality of I/O ports and said second I/O port, wherein said core logic is configured to associate each of said PCI Express transactions with a corresponding one of said plurality of operating system domains (OSDs), and wherein said core logic designates said corresponding one of said plurality of OSDs in transmissions to/from said second I/O port according to a variant of PCI Express protocol, and wherein said variant comprises encapsulating an OS domain header within a transaction layer packet that otherwise comports with said PCI Express protocol, and wherein said first shared input/output endpoint designates one of said PCI Express transactions for a particular one of said plurality of operating system domains by encapsulating said OS domain header within said transaction layer packet, and wherein said transaction layer packet is routed to said core logic via said second I/O port, and wherein said core logic is configured to detect and decapsulate said OS domain header from said transaction layer packet, and is configured to route said one of said PCI Express transactions to said particular one of said plurality of operating system domains.