Patent Publication Number: US-2006007926-A1

Title: System and method for providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE  
      This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 15410US02) filed Dec. 19, 2004, which is is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/652,327 (Attorney Docket No. 13945US02), filed Aug. 29, 2003.  
      This application make reference to, claims priority to, and claims the benefit of: 
          U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. 15410US02), filed Dec. 19, 2003; and     U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/531,080 (Attorney Docket No. 15410US01), filed Dec. 19, 2003.        

      This application also makes reference to U.S. application Ser. No. 10/652,330 (Attorney Docket No. 13783US02), filed on Aug. 29, 2003.  
      All of the above-referenced applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      Certain embodiments of the invention relate to network interfaces. More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a method and system for providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       FIG. 1  shows a server  100  adapted to handle five types of network traffic. The first type of network traffic is typical network traffic such as, for example, common Ethernet network traffic including Internet protocol (IP) or other layer 3 (L3) technologies transporting small amounts of data and control information around the network and /or larger amounts of data on behalf of Transport protocols like UDP or TCP. The first type of network traffic is handled by a first network traffic system including an Ethernet connector  110 ; a layer 2 (L2) network interface card (NIC) arrangement  120  including an L2 NIC  130 ; a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge  140 ; an L2 NIC driver  150 ; a full-feature software transmission control protocol (TCP) stack  160 ; a socket service switch  170 ; and a socket service  180 . The full-feature software TCP stack  160  supports socket services as well as other services.  
      The second type of network traffic is TCP accelerated traffic such as, for example, TCP running on top of IP. The protocol is used to move large data across conventional Ethernet networks. The server  100  may offload the TCP portion of the network traffic, thereby freeing server resources for running non-networking tasks. The second type of network traffic is handled by a second network traffic system including a TCP offload engine (TOE) that accelerates TCP traffic. The second network traffic system includes an Ethernet connector  190 ; a layer 4 (L4) offload adapter arrangement  200  including an L2 NIC  210  and a TCP processor  220 ; the PCI bridge  140 ; an L4 driver  230 ; the socket service switch  170 ; and the socket service  180 . The TCP accelerated traffic is typically serviced by the socket service  180 .  
      The third type of network traffic is storage traffic. Conventional storage systems use small computer system interface (SCSI) directly attached or carried over transports such as Fibre Channel technologies to connect the server  100  to storage disks. Both of these technologies share a common command set e.g. SPC-2 ans common software interface or service, e.g. a SCSI port filter driver in Windows operating systems. Recently, a protocol has been developed that provides SCSI traffic to be run over a TCP/IP network. The recent protocol removes the need for SCSI or Fibre Channel network connections, thereby allowing the storage traffic to be run over the same network as used for networking (e.g., Ethernet). The third type of network traffic is handled by a third network traffic system including an adapter that implements the recent protocol and provides SCSI miniport service. The third network traffic system includes an Ethernet connector  240 ; a storage host bus adapter (HBA) arrangement  250  including an L2 NIC  260 , a TCP processor  270  and an Internet SCSI (iSCSI) processor  280 ; the PCI bridge  140 ; a SCSI driver  290 ; and a SCSI miniport service  300 .  
      The fourth type of network traffic is interprocess communication (IPC) traffic or high performance computing (HPC). This type of network allows programs running on different servers to communicate quickly and with very low overhead. IPC networks are used with, for example, distributed applications, database servers and file servers. For example, IPC networks can be used when the computing power needed exceeds the capacity of a particular server such that several servers are clustered to perform the task or when multiple servers are used for ultra-reliable operation. This type of service is provided through a remote direct memory access (RDMA) interface (e.g., Winsock Direct for a Microsoft operating system and other interfaces for other OS) that directly interfaces with applications. The fourth type of network traffic is handled by a fourth network traffic system including an adapter that provides services as a dedicated, proprietary network (e.g., Infiniband products). The fourth network traffic system includes a proprietary network interface  310 ; an RDMA NIC arrangement  320  including an L2 NIC adapted for the particular network  330 , an L4 processor and an RDMA processor  340 ; the PCI bridge  140 ; an RDMA driver  350 ; and an RDMA service  360  (e.g., Winsock Direct).  
      The fifth type of network traffic is any traffic relating to any type of operating system (OS) Agnostic Management Entity or device. These entities or devices monitor the state of the server  100  and transmit information relating to state and statistical values over the network or other types of information such as information targeted to a computer display. The fifth type of network traffic is handled by a fifth network traffic system that includes an Ethernet connector  370 ; a server management agent  380 ; and optionally a keyboard/video/mouse service  390 . The fifth network traffic system provides keyboard, video and mouse hardware services to the server  100  so that these interfaces can be redirected over the network to a central server management system.  
      The five network traffic systems supported by the server  100  use a substantial amount of space within the server and are typically quite costly. Combining the five types of networks is hindered on a number of fronts. For example, many operating systems insist that each connector have its own driver and its own hardware. Accordingly, each of the five network traffic systems has its own data and control paths. Furthermore, the use of proprietary network interfaces minimizes the possibility of integration and common and easy management of the server resources. Thus, a number of hardware and software redundancies and inefficiencies remain.  
      Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.  
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data. Aspects of the method may comprise receiving data associated with a first network protocol via a first network interface and receiving data associated with a second network protocol via a second network interface. The first and the second network interfaces are adapted to aggregate the received data. A single context memory may be shared and utilized for processing at least a portion of the data associated with the first network protocol and at least a portion of the data associated with the second network protocol. The first network interface may be coupled to a first connection and the second network interface may be coupled to a second connector. At least a portion of the received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols may be offloaded for processing using the single context memory. The received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols may comprise traffic data and control data. The first network protocol may be different from the second network protocol. Portions of the shared single context memory may be dynamically allocated and/or reallocated for processing received data associated with the first and second network protocols.  
      The single context memory may be partitioned into a plurality of partitions, each of which may be allocated to handle data associated with each of the first and/or second network protocols. The partitions may be reallocated to handle data from different protocols. Reallocation of the partitions to handle data from different protocols may occur dynamically. For example, a partition allocated to handle the first network protocol may be subsequently reallocated to handle the second network protocol. The first network protocol and the second network protocol may comprise L2, L4, L5, RDMA and/or ISCSI data. A size of the single context memory is less than a combined size of separate memories that would be required to separately process each of the first network protocol and the second network protocol data.  
      Another embodiment of the invention may provide a machine-readable storage having stored thereon, a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine for causing the machine to perform steps as described above for network interfacing and processing of packetized data.  
      Certain embodiments of the system may comprise at least one processor that receives data associated with a first network protocol via a first network interface. The processor may also receive receives data associated with a second network protocol via a second network interface. The first network interface may be coupled to a first connection and the second network interface may be coupled to a second connector. The first and the second network interfaces are adapted to aggregate the received data. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the first connector and/or the second connector may be RJ-45 connectors. Notwithstanding, a single shared context memory may be utilized by the processor to process at least a portion of the data associated with the first network protocol and at least a portion of the data associated with the second network protocol. The processor may offload at least a portion of the received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols for processing in the single context memory. The received data associated with a first and/or second network protocols may comprise traffic data and control data. The first protocol may be different from the second protocol. Portions of the shared single context memory may be dynamically allocated and/or reallocated by the processor for processing received data associated with the first and second network protocols.  
      The processor may be adapted to partition the single context memory into a plurality of partitions, each of which may be allocated to handle data associated with each of the first and/or second network protocols. The processor may be configured to reallocate the partition in order to handle data from different protocols. In this regard, the processor may dynamically reallocate the partitions to handle data from different protocols. For example, a partition allocated to handle the first network protocol may be subsequently reallocated by the processor to handle the second network protocol. The first network protocol and the second network protocol may comprise L2, L4, L5, RDMA and/or ISCSI data. The single context memory may be configured so that its size is less than a combined size of separate memories that would be required to separately process each of the first network protocol and the second network protocol data. The processor may be a host processor, a state machine or a NIC processor. The first network interface may be coupled to at least one server management agent via a server management interface. The second network interface may also be coupled to at least the server management agent via a server management interface. The server management interface may be adapted to operate independently of other interfaces within the server management agent. In this regard, a long as there is sufficient power, the server management agent will remain operational.  
      These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description and drawings.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  shows a block representation illustrating an embodiment of a server.  
       FIG. 2   a  shows a block representation illustrating an embodiment of a server according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2   b  shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the server interface and connectors of  FIG. 2   b,  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 3  shows a block representation illustrating an embodiment of a server according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an exemplary data center that may be utilized in connection with providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating exemplary partitioning of context memory required for supporting a plurality of combined protocols such as some of the protocols illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.  
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and system for providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data. Aspects of the method may comprise receiving data associated with a first network protocol via a first network interface and receiving data associated with a second network protocol via a second network interface. The first and the second network interfaces are adapted to aggregate the received data. A single context memory may be shared and utilized for processing at least a portion of the data associated with the first network protocol and at least a portion of the data associated with the second network protocol. The first network interface may be coupled to a first connection and the second network interface may be coupled to a second connector. At least a portion of the received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols may be offloaded for processing using the single context memory. The received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols may comprise traffic data and/or control data. In an aspect of the invention, the first network protocol may be different from the second network protocol. Portions of the shared single context memory may be dynamically allocated and/or reallocated for processing received data associated with the first and second network protocols.  
      Another embodiment of the invention may comprise receiving data associated with a first network protocol and receiving data associated with a second network protocol. A single context memory may be shared and utilized for processing at least a portion of the data associated with the first network protocol and at least a portion of the data associated with the second network protocol. At least a portion of the received data associated with the first and/or second network protocols may be offloaded for processing in the single context memory. The received data associated with a first and/or second network protocols may comprise traffic data and control data. Portions of the shared single context memory may be dynamically allocated and/or reallocated for processing received data associated with the first and second network protocols.  
      Some aspects of the present invention may be found in, for example, systems and methods that provide network interfaces. Some embodiments according to the present invention may provide systems and methods that combine networking functions. For example, in one embodiment according to the present invention, a common networking adapter, a storage adapter, an interprocess communication (IPC) or high performance computing (HPC) adapter and a management adapter may be combined into a single device. Substantial savings in cost and space may be achieved, for example, by time-division-multiplexing the resources of shared blocks or by dynamically allocating fixed resources between the different network types. Shared blocks may be developed that provide features (e.g., functions) applicable to one or more of the protocols. Shared blocks may also house special services that may not be used by all of the protocols.  
       FIG. 2   a  shows a block representation illustrating an embodiment of a server  400  according to the present invention. The server  400  may include, for example, an Ethernet connector  410  and a server enclosure  420 . The Ethernet connector  410  may be a RJ45 or other suitable connector. The present invention also contemplates using one or more Ethernet connectors  410 . For example, additional Ethernet connectors  410  may be used to provide enhanced performance, fault tolerance or teaming. The server  400  may be adapted to handle a plurality of different networks via the one or more Ethernet connectors  410 . As illustrated, in one embodiment according to the present invention, the server  400  may handle five different types of network traffic. However, the present invention also contemplates handling more or less than five different types of network traffic. Although a single L2 medium access controller (MAC)/network interface card (MAC/NIC)  430  referred to as L2 MAC/NIC is illustrated as being coupled to a single Ethernet connector  410 , the invention is not so limited. In an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of L2 MAC/NIC  430  may be coupled to a plurality of Ethernet connectors  410 . For example, four independent 2.5 Gbps L2 MACs may be coupled via 4 independent Ethernet connectors to a 10 Gbps capable RDMA engine  500   a.  In another embodiment of the invention, whenever a plurality of L2 NICs are utilized, one or more of the L2 MACs may be adapted to carry a different type of traffic.  
      A first type of network traffic that the server  400  can handle may be, for example, common network traffic such as, for example, Ethernet network traffic employing, for example, Internet protocol (IP) technologies or other layer 3 (L3) technologies and transporting data and control information around the network. The first type of network traffic may be handled by a first network traffic system that may include, for example, the Ethernet connector  410 , a L2 MAC/NIC  430 , a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge  440 , an unified driver  450 , a software transmission control protocol and/or IP (TCP/IP) stack  460 , a socket service switch  470  and a socket service  480 . The Ethernet connector  410  may be coupled to the L2 MAC/NIC  430  which, in turn, may be coupled to the PCI bridge  440 . The PCI bridge  440  may be coupled to the unified driver  450  which, in turn, may be coupled to the software TCP/IP stack  460 . The software TCP stack  460  may be coupled to the socket service switch  470  which, in turn, may be coupled to the socket service  480 . The software TCP/IP stack  460  may support, for example, socket services as well as other types of services. In an embodiment of the invention, the integrated NIC  550  may be integrated as part of a chipset or directly coupled to the peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge  440 . The block  440  may be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bridge  440  or any variant thereof, for example, PCI-X.  
      A second type of network traffic that the server  400  can handle may be, for example, TCP accelerated traffic such as, for example, TCP running on top of IP. TCP over IP may be used to move data across Ethernet networks. The server  400  may offload the TCP portion of the network traffic, thereby freeing server resources for running non-networking tasks. The second type of network traffic may be handled by a second network traffic system including, for example, a TCP offload engine (TOE) that can accelerate TCP traffic. The second network traffic system may include, for example, the Ethernet connector  410 , the L2 MAC/NIC  430 , a TCP processor  490 , the PCI or PCI-X bridge  440 , the unified driver  450 , the TCP stack  460 , the socket service switch  470  and/or the socket service  480 . The Ethernet connector  410  may be coupled to the L2 MAC/NIC  430  which, in turn, may be coupled to the TCP processor  490 . The TCP processor  490  may be coupled to the PCI bridge which, in turn, may be coupled to the unified driver  450 . The unified driver  450  may be coupled to the TCP stack  460 , and the socket service switch  470  which, in turn, may be coupled to the socket service  480 . The TCP accelerated traffic may be serviced by, for example, the socket service  480  or other types of services.  
      A third type of network traffic that the server  400  may handle may be, for example, storage traffic. The third type of network traffic may include, for example, a protocol (e.g., Internet SCSI (iSCSI)) that provides small computer system interface (SCSI) over a TCP/IP network. By using iSCSI, proprietary adapters may be avoided and storage traffic may run over a network shared by some or all of the different types of network traffic. The third type of network traffic may be handled by a third network traffic system that may include, for example, the Ethernet connector  410 , the L2 NIC MAC/NIC  430 , the TCP processor  490 , an iSCSI/remote-direct-memory access (RDMA) processor  500 , the PCI or PCI-X bridge  440 , the unified driver  450  and a SCSI or iSCSI miniport service  510 . The Ethernet connector  410  may be coupled to the L2 MAC/NIC  430  which, in turn, may be coupled to the TCP processor  490 . The TCP processor  490  may be coupled to the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500  which, in turn, may be coupled to the PCI bridge  440 . The PCI bridge  440  may be coupled to the unified driver  450  which, in turn, may be coupled to the SCSI or iSCSI miniport service  510 . In an embodiment of the invention, the SCSI or iSCSI miniport service  510  may be coupled to the PCI or PCI-X bridge  440 . Somewhat similarly, in another embodiment of the invention, the RDMA service  520  may be coupled to the PCI or PCI-X bridge  440 .  
      A fourth type of network traffic that the server  400  may handle may be, for example, IPC and HPC traffic. IPC networks may allow programs running on different servers to communicate quickly and without substantial overhead. IPC networks may be used with, for example, distributed applications, database servers and file servers. For example, IPC networks may be used when the requisite computing power exceeds the capacity of a particular server or when multiple servers are used for ultra-reliable operation. This type of service may be provided through an RDMA interface such as, for example, Winsock Direct or MPI or IT API or DAPL that may directly interface with applications. The fourth type of network traffic may be handled by a fourth network traffic system that may include, for example, the Ethernet connector  410 , the L2 MAC/NIC  430 , the TCP processor  490 , the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500 , the PCI bridge  440 , the unified driver  450  and an RDMA service  520  (e.g., Winsock Direct). Although the SCSI or iSCSI miniport service block  510  and the RDMA service block  520  are illustrated as separated blocks, the invention is not so limited. Accordingly, the functions of the SCSI or iSCSI miniport service block  510  and the RDMA service block  520  may be combined into a single block  520   a,  for example, iSCSI extension for RDMA (iSER). Although the TCP processor block  490  and the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500  are illustrated as separated blocks, the invention is not so limited. Accordingly, the functions of the TCP processor block  490  and the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500  may be combined into a single block  500   a.  The Ethernet connector  410  may be coupled to the L2 MAC/NIC  430  which, in turn, may be coupled to the TCP processor  490 . The TCP processor  490  may be coupled to the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500  which, in turn, may be coupled to the PCI bridge  440 . The PCI bridge  440  may be coupled to the unified driver  450  which, in turn, may be coupled to the RDMA service  520 . The MAC/NIC  430  may be coupled via a management interface to the server management agent  530 . The interface may be adapted to operate independent of all the other interfaces, which may be on the integrated chip  550 .  
      A fifth type of network traffic that the server  400  may handle may be, for example, any traffic relating to any type of operating system (OS) Agnostic Management Entity or device. These entities or devices may monitor the state of the server  400  and may transmit information relating to state and statistical values over the network. The fifth type of network traffic may be handled by a fifth network traffic system that may include, for example, the Ethernet connector  410 , the L2 MAC/NIC  430 , a server management agent  530  and a keyboard/video/mouse service  540 . The fifth network traffic system may provide keyboard, video and mouse hardware services to the server  400  so that these interfaces may be redirected over the network to a central server management system (not shown). The Ethernet connector  410  may be coupled to the L2 MAC/NIC  430  which, in turn, may be coupled to the server management agent  530 . The server management agent  530  may be coupled to the keyboard/video/mouse service  540 . The keyboard/video/mouse service block  540  may run, for example, on the server management agent  530 . Although keyboard/video/mouse service block  540  provides remote access, and is illustrated as part of software block  560 , the invention is not limited in this regard.  
      The present invention contemplates employing different levels of integration. For example, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a single integrated chip  550  may include, for example, one or more of the following: the L2 MAC/NIC  430 , the TCP processor  490  and the iSCSI/RDMA processor  500 . In another embodiment according to the present invention, software  560  may provide, for example, one or more of the following: the TCP/IP stack  460 , the socket service switch  470 , the socket service  480 , the unified driver  450 , the SCSI miniport service  510 , the RDMA service  520  and the keyboard/video/mouse service  540 .  
       FIG. 2   b  shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the server interface and connectors of  FIG. 2   b,  in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 2   b,  there is shown a L2 MAC block  201  and a connector block  202 . The L2 MAC block  201  may comprise a plurality of L2 MAC interfaces  204   a,    204   b,    204   c,  and  204   d.  The connector block  202  may comprise a plurality of connectors  205   a,    205   b,    205   c  and  205   d.    FIG. 1   b  also illustrates NIC  550 , which is coupled to the interface  440 . The interface  440  may be, for example, a PCI or PCI-X interface.  
      In operation, each of the L2 MAC interfaces  204   a,    204   b,    204   c,    204   d  may be coupled to a particular one of connectors  205   a,    205   b,    205   c  and  205   d,  respectively. In an embodiment of the invention, the L2 MAC interfaces may be adapted to handle different protocols. For example, the L2 MAC interface  204   a  may be adapted to handle iSCSI data from connector  205   a  and the L2 MAC interface  204   b  may be adapted to handle RDMA data from connector  205   b.  The L2 MAC interface  204   c  may be adapted to handle L4 data from connector  205   c  and the L2 MAC interface  204   d  may be adapted to handle L5 data from connector  205   d.  In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, four independent 2.5 Gbps L2 MACs may be coupled via 4 independent Ethernet connectors to a 10 Gbps capable RDMA engine  500   a.    
       FIG. 3  shows a block diagram illustrating the server  400  with some integrated components according to the present invention. In one embodiment according to the present invention, the server enclosure  420  houses the single integrated chip  550 , the server management agent  530 , the PCI bridge  440  and the software  560 . The single integrated chip  550  may be coupled to the Ethernet connector  410 , the PCI bridge  440  and the server management agent  530 . The PCI bridge  440  and the server management agent  530  may each be coupled to the software  560 . Thus, the single integrated chip  550  may handle, for example, five types of network traffic through a single Ethernet connector  410 . The single integrated chip  550  or the PCI bridge  440  may determine which of the five types of network traffic may access the software  560  including the unified driver  450  and the various services  480 ,  510 ,  520  and  540 . Access to the software  560  may be achieved via a number of different techniques including, for example, time division multiplexing and dynamically allocating fixed resources between the different network types.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may include one or more of the advantages as set forth below.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may provide a unified data path and control path. Such a unified approach may provide substantial cost and space savings through the integration of different components.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may share a TCP stack between the different types of network traffic systems. Cost savings may result from the elimination of redundant logic and code.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may share packet buffer memory. The network traffic systems may share the receive (RX) and the transmit (TX) buffer memory resources since the network traffic systems share a common Ethernet connection.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may share a direct memory access (DMA) engine and buffering technologies. Some of the network traffic systems and protocols may share buffering strategies and thus the logic for the mapping may be shared. Furthermore, since the DMA traffic may use a single Ethernet connection, buffering strategies may share the same DMA structure.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may have similar NIC-to-driver and driver-to-NIC interface strategies. By using a common technique for interfacing both directions of communication, cost may be saved over separate implementations.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may use a single IP address. By combining multiple networks and functions into a single NIC, a single IP address may be employed to serve them all. This may substantially reduce the number of IP addresses used in complex server systems and also may simplify the management and configurations of such systems.  
      Some embodiments according to the present invention may provide pooling and/or dynamic allocation of connection context data. The pooling of connection context between different protocols may allow substantial reductions in the storage space used and may make possible storing of connection context in a memory-on-a-chip implementation. The memory-on-a-chip implementation may remove, for example, the pins/power complexity associated with external memory. Similar considerations may also be applicable to SOC or ASIC-based applications. In this regard, reduced interface logic and pin count may be achieved.  
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of an exemplary data center that may be utilized in connection with providing pooling or dynamic allocation of connection context data in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. For illustrative purposes, the exemplary data center of  FIG. 4  is illustrated as a three-tier architecture. Notwithstanding, the invention is not so limited, but also contemplates architectures with more or less than three tiers. Referring to  FIG. 4 , a first tier  402  comprises a system of type A, a second tier  404  comprises a system of type B and a third tier  406  comprises a system of type C. In the first tier  402 , there is shown a server  431  comprising a L2/L4/L5 adapter  408  and an SCSI host bus adapter (HBA)  410 . A storage unit  426  such as a hard disk may be coupled to the SCSI HBA  410 . In the second tier  404 , there is shown a server  432  comprising a L2/L4/L5 adapter  416 . In the third tier  406 , there is shown a server  434  comprising a L2/L4/L5 adapter  422 . Each of the servers  431 ,  432 ,  434  may comprise a single context memory (CM), namely,  436 ,  438 ,  440 , respectively.  
      The data center of  FIG. 4  may further comprise disk array  404 , database storage  418 , router  412  and management console  414 . A storage unit such as a hard disk may be coupled to the disk array  424 . The database storage  418  may comprise a cluster controller  428  and a plurality of storage units such as hard disks. Each of the storage units may be coupled to the cluster controller  428 .  
      The type A system  402  may be adapted to process TCP data, while the type B system  404  and the type C system  406  may be adapted to process TCP data, layer 5 protocol 1 (L5 P1) data and layer 5 protocol 2 (L5 P2) data. For layer 5 protocol 1 (L5 P1), data may be transferred primarily between severs, for example, servers  431 ,  432 , and  434 . The layer 5 protocol 2 (L5 P2) data may be transferred to and stored in the disk array  424 . The single L2/L4/L5 adapters  408 ,  416 ,  422  may be configured to handle, for example, network traffic, storage traffic, cluster traffic and management traffic. The single L2/L4/L5 adapters  408 ,  416 ,  422  may be integrated in, for example, a server blade. One consequence of using a single L2/L4/L5 adapter as a particular server or server blade, is that the particular server or server blade may be assigned a single IP address or 2 IP addresses one for storage traffic and one for other traffic types or 3 IP addresses one for storage traffic, one for management traffic and one for other traffic types, rather than having a plurality of processing adapters, each of which would require it own IP address. This may significantly reduce both hardware and software complexity.  
      The single context memory associated with each of the servers may be utilized for L2/L4/L5, RDMA, and iSCSI support and may comprise a plurality of differently partitioned sections. The use of a single context memory in each of the servers may be more cost effective and efficient than utilizing a plurality of separate memories for handling each of the L2/L4/L5, RDMA, and iSCSI protocols. This single context memory may be more readily integrated into, for example, in a system-on-chip (SOC) or other integrated circuit (IC), rather than utilizing the plurality of separate memories. With regards to memory size and memory usage, if each of the L2/L4/L5, RDMA, and iSCSI protocols utilized separate memories, then the adapter would require three (3) separate memories, each of which, in a worst case scenario, would be as large or almost as large as the single context memory provided in accordance with the various embodiments of the invention.  
      In this worst-case scenario, a conventional network interface adapter capable of separately handling each of the protocol context data, would require three (3) separate memories, each of which would be equivalent in size to the single context memory. To further illustrate this concept, assume that the single context memory has a size s, which is utilized to handle L2/L4/L5, RDMA and iSCSI protocols. In a conventional network interface adapter that is configured to handle L2/L4/L5, RDMA and iSCSI protocols, then three (3) separate memories each of size s would be required. In this regard, the conventional system would require 3 s or three (3) times the size of the single context memory utilized in the invention. In this case, the conventional memory would require 3 separate memories for three different adapters, each of which has a corresponding controller configured to handle its own format. In accordance with the various embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in  FIG. 2   a,  a plurality of protocols are handled in a single controller and the protocols are compatible enough so that a single memory may be utilized to handle any one or any combination of protocols. This significantly reduces the amount of memory, when compared with combining 3 separate implementations in a single controller as utilized in conventional systems.  
       FIG. 4  also illustrates a converged network where all traffic is running on a single network. In one aspect of the invention, this may be implemented as separate dedicated networks. Notwithstanding, the first tier or tier one severs  402  may be adapted to accept requests from clients and in response, communicate formatted context back to the clients using, for example, TCP through the router  412 . In addition to client communication, the tier one servers  402  also generate processing requests and receive corresponding processing results from the second tier servers  404  using, for example, TCP. The first tier sever  402  may access it&#39;s program on it&#39;s disk  426  via thee SCSI HBA  410 .  
      The second tier severs  404  may communicate with the first tier servers  402  as previously stated, but also collect or update static context from, for example, the disk array  424  using L5 Protocol 1. The second tier servers  404  also request database operations and collect database results from the third tier servers  406  using L5 Protocol 2. The third tier severs  406  may communicate with the second tier servers  404  as previously stated, but also access the database storage using the cluster controller  428  using L5 protocol 1. The servers  431 ,  432 ,  434  may be managed using TCP connections to the management console  414 .  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram illustrating exemplary partitioning of context memory required for supporting a plurality of combined protocols such as some of the protocols illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a system of type A  502 , a system of type B  504  and a system of type C  506 . The system of type A  502  comprises a single context memory  508 , which comprises a plurality of partitions. The system of type B  504  comprises a single context memory  510  that also comprises a plurality of partitions. The system of type C  506  comprises a single context memory  512  that also comprises a plurality of partitions. Since the partitions associated with a particular context memory may be dynamically allocated and/or reallocated, the exemplary partitioning of  FIG. 5  may be representative of a snapshot of the context memory at a particular time instant t 1 . At a time instant t 2 , where t 2 &gt;t 1 , the partitions of the context memory as illustrated may be differently allocated and/or de-allocated. Accordingly, a first new partition may be allocated to accommodate data for a new connection. However, when the first new partition is no longer needed, it may be de-allocated. For a second new connection, at least a portion of the first memory partition along with other unallocated context memory may be allocated and/or reallocated to handle the second new connection.  
      Each of the single context memories  502 ,  504 ,  506  may be partitioned and particular partitions may be utilized to process the combined L2, L4, RDMA, and iSCSI protocols. In this regard, for the system of type A  502 , the single context memory  508  may be partitioned into the following partitions: TCP1, TCP2, TCP11, TOE4, TCP3, TOE5, TOE8, TOE10, TOE9, TOE 6 and TOE7. For the system of type B  504 , the single context memory  510  may be partitioned into the following partitions: L5-P2-1, TCP1, L5-P1-1, TCP2, TCP3, TCP4, TCP6, TCP7 and TCP8. For the system of type C  506 , the single context memory  512  may be partitioned into the following partitions: L5-P2-1, TCP1, L5-P2-2, L5-P1-2, TCP3, TCP4, TCP6, TCP7 and TCP8. Each partition may be dynamically adapted to handle data associated with one of the combined protocols. The each partition and/or its size may be dynamically changed.  
      In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, L5-P2 context data may be associated with iSCSI protocol, L5-P1 context data may be associated with RDMA offload and TCP context data may be associated with L4 offload. Although L2/L4/L5, RDMA, and iSCSI protocols are illustrated, the invention is not limited in this regard, and other protocols may be utilized without departing from the scope of the invention. Notwithstanding, with reference to the system of type A 502, the TCP1 partition may be partitioned to handle data from a console such as the management console  414  in  FIG. 4 . The TCP11 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data from a user connection, namely user 11 . The TOE4 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for the user  11  connection. The TCP3 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for user connection user 3 . The TOE5 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for user connection user 5 . The TOE8 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for user connection user 8 . The TOE10 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for user connection user 10 . The TOE6 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for user connection user 6 . The TOE7 partition may be partitioned to handle TOE data for user connection user 7 .  
      With reference to the system of type B  504 , the L5-P2-1 partition may be partitioned to handle iSCSI data for the disk array connection such as the RAID  424 . The TCP1 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data from a console such as the management console  414  in  FIG. 4 . The L5-P1-1 partition may be partitioned to handle RDMA data for a connection. The TCP2 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 . The TCP3 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 . The TCP4 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 . The TCP6 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 . The TCP7 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 . The TCP8 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data for a connection with the type A system  502 .  
      With reference to the system of type C  506 , the L5-P2-1 partition may be partitioned to handle iSCSI data for a first cluster controller connection. The TCP1 partition may be partitioned to handle L4 offload data from a console such as the management console  414  in  FIG. 4 . The L5-P2-2 partition may be partitioned to handle iSCSI data for a second cluster controller connection. The L5-P1-2 partition may be partitioned to handle RDMA data for a connection with the type B system  504 . The L5-P1-3 partition may be partitioned to handle RDMA data for a third connection with the type B system  504 . The L5-P1-1 partition may be partitioned to handle RDMA data for a first connection with the type B system  504 . The L5-P1-4 partition may be partitioned to handle RDMA data for a fourth connection with the type B system  504 .  
      TCP connections provide a smaller amount of offload and take a smaller amount of context storage than, for example, RDMA. The L5 protocol 1 is a RDMA protocol, which is used to communicate between applications running on different servers. Generally a medium number of these RDMA connections are needed and each RDMA connection provides a greater level of offload than TCP offload provides. Accordingly, a larger context storage area is needed than for TCP offload. The L5 protocol 2 is a storage protocol, which is utilized to communicate with disk arrays or clusters. Although few of these connections are needed, each of these L5 protocol 2 connections move a much larger amount of complex data. As a result, the L5 protocol 2 connections require an even larger context storage area.  
      One of the many advantages provided by the invention is that the distribution of the connection types complements the shared context model. The first tier server  402  has many connections due to it&#39;s connections with many client systems, but these TCP connections are smaller, so the context may hold any associated data. The second tier server  404  has smaller TCP connections only to the first tier servers  402 , but has some of the larger protocol 1 connections to the database servers. This second tier may need just a few protocol 2 storage connections to access the static context. The third tier severs  406  have protocol 1 connections to the second their servers, but have may have more requirement for protocol 2 connections to the cluster controller. By supporting a mixture of connection types in the same context memory, a single type of adapter may be utilized in all three applications with similar memory requirements. If the same conventional solution is used with three types of severs, then the separate context memories must be sized to meet the requirements of all three applications, thereby resulting in much larger total memory.  
      Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. The present invention may be realized in a centralized fashion in one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein.  
      The present invention may also be embedded in a computer program product, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer system is able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the present context means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having an information processing capability to perform a particular function either directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversion to another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different material form.  
      While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.