Patent ID: 8413172
Filing Date: 2013-04-02
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
1. A computing device, comprising: an application configured to generate socket application programming interface (socket API) calls having destination IP addresses; a non-networked input/output (I/O) device port; a non-networked I/O device driver operatively coupled with the non-networked I/O device port and configured to process IP-unaware I/O access calls; a networked I/O device port; a TCP/IP protocol stack operatively coupled with the networked I/O device port and configured to process the socket API calls having destination IP addresses; and an emulation module within a socket API operatively coupled with the application, the non-networked I/O device driver and the TCP/IP protocol stack and configured to receive the socket API calls from the application, inspect destination IP addresses in the socket API calls, and based on the inspections, send to the non-networked I/O device driver IP-unaware I/O access calls corresponding to the socket API calls that have a destination IP address associated with the non-networked I/O device port and send to the TCP/IP protocol stack the socket API calls that have a destination IP address not associated with the non-networked I/O device port; wherein the socket API interfaces with the application and, via the emulation module, with the non-networked I/O device driver to enable communication between the application and a non-networked I/O device, and also interfaces with the TCP/IP protocol stack to enable communication between the application and an application on a networked I/O device; wherein the emulation module compares for a match destination IP addresses in the socket API calls with a stored IP address in a data store within the socket API associated with the non-networked I/O device port; and if the destination IP address included in a socket API call is not stored in the data store, the socket API sends to the TCP/IP protocol stack the socket API call.