Patent ID: 7373541
Filing Date: 2008-05-13
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for controlling an alignment signal transmission in an electronic communication process, comprising: a counter configured to sequentially modify a count value in accordance with an associated clock signal, such that the count value is incremented by one upon each successive cycle of the clock signal, and wherein the counter includes a reset port, the counter configured to restart a counting operation from zero upon receipt of a signal at the reset port; a storage cell configured to receive and store an alignment trigger value; a comparator connected to receive the count value as an input from the counter and the alignment trigger value as an input from the storage cell, the comparator configured to compare the count value to the alignment trigger value, the comparator further configured to send an output signal from an output port upon equivalence of the count value and the alignment trigger value; alignment circuitry connected to receive the output signal from the comparator, the alignment circuitry configured to generate and transmit an alignment signal through an initiator transceiver to a target transceiver in response to receipt of the output signal from the comparator, wherein the alignment signal represents a dword that is not to be processed by internal logic of the target transceiver, and wherein receipt of the alignment signal by the target transceiver enables the target transceiver to catch up with processing of previously received non-alignment signal dwords; and a reset link defined to transmit the output signal from the comparator to the reset port of the counter, wherein the counter is configured to restart the counting operation upon receipt of the output signal at the reset port.