Patent ID: 6988150
Filing Date: 2006-01-17
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. In a shared I/O subsystem having a plurality of I/O interfaces for coupling a plurality of computer systems, each of the I/O interfaces communicatively coupling one of the computer systems to the shared I/O subsystem, a method comprising: receiving, at a first one of the I/O interfaces, a data packet from one of the computer systems coupled to the first one of the I/O interfaces, the data packet having a variable length; arranging, at the first one of the I/O interfaces, the data packet into an internal format, the internal format having a first portion that includes data bits and a second portion that includes control bits; receiving the data packet in a buffer in the shared I/O subsystem, wherein the second portion is received after the first portion; verifying, with the shared I/O subsystem, that the data packet has been completely received by the buffer by monitoring a memory bit aligned with a final bit in the second portion of the data packet; and transmitting, in response to the verifying, the data packet to another one of the computer systems coupled to a second one of the I/O interfaces.