Patent ID: 7809068

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: integrated circuitry comprising a plurality communication channels, said integrated circuitry is capable of communicating with at least one remote node external to the integrated circuitry, via at least one of said communication channels, in accordance with at least one communication protocol, each of said plurality of communication channels providing a communication path between a host system and at least one said remote node, the integrated circuitry is further capable of operating each said communication channel independently of each other and independently of said host system; wherein the integrated circuitry further comprises: a task management circuit capable of receiving a plurality of tasks from said host system, said task management circuit further capable of scheduling said plurality of tasks independently of said host system and said task management circuit further capable of selecting tasks independently of said host system; and a respective protocol engine circuit associated with each channel and capable of executing selected tasks independently of said host system and said protocol engine circuit further capable of reporting a result of an executed task to said task management circuit; wherein said task management circuit and protocol engine circuits are implemented in hardware circuitry, without firmware or software; and wherein each said protocol engine circuit is further capable of executing one of said plurality of tasks for one of said plurality of communication channels while another one of said protocol engine circuits is simultaneously executing another one of said plurality of tasks for another one of said plurality of communication channels.