Patent ID: 7065582

Claim:
A computer system comprising: a local bus, a host processor coupled to the local bus, a network interface for providing an interface between the local bus and a network medium, and a memory coupled to the local bus, the memory having receive buffers allocated for receiving data from the network medium, the network interface including an automatic flow control mechanism for automatically controlling a flow of data from the network medium based on availability of the receive buffers, wherein in a first flow control mode initiated when a flow control mode signal is at a first logic level, the automatic flow control mechanism is configured to respond to a shortage of the receive buffers by automatically requesting a remote transmitter coupled to the network medium to suspend data transmission until a predetermined number of the receive buffers is available, and in a second flow control mode initiated when the flow control mode signal is at a second logic level, the automatic flow control mechanism is configured to respond to a shortage of the receive buffers by automatically requesting the remote transmitter coupled to the network medium to suspend data transmission for a predetermined time.