Patent ID: 7502870

Claim:
A method for receiving network communication, comprising: posting a host memory buffer pointer from a host device to a network interface card (NIC) attached to the host device prior to receipt of data at the NIC to be placed in the host memory buffer corresponding to the pointer, wherein posting the host memory buffer pointer serves to surrender ownership of the host memory buffer from the host device to the NIC, wherein a size of the host memory buffer is equal to a system page size and is not based on an amount of data to be received at the NIC; placing data received at the NIC in the host memory buffer corresponding to the pointer; and operating the NIC in accordance with a byte-stream oriented transport protocol such that the NIC is operated to prevent placement of data in a portion of the host memory buffer having data previously placed therein by the NIC, and such that ownership of each byte of the host memory buffer is automatically returned from the NIC to the host device upon placement of data therein by the NIC.