Patent ID: 7620955

Claim:
A method for transferring a plurality of data packets from a virtual machine (VM) of a virtual computer to a destination over a network, the virtual computer running on system hardware via system software and having a virtual network interface device, the method comprising: storing two or more guest address pointers associated with the data packets in a guest network transmission queue prior to handling the data packets; handling the data packets through the virtual network interface device by converting the two or more guest address pointers stored in the guest network transmission queue to physical address pointers, and storing the physical address pointers in a physical network transmission queue; and transferring the data packets from the VM of the virtual computer over the network via a physical network interface device of the system hardware based on the physical address pointers in the physical network transmission queue; wherein the virtual computer further comprises a virtual machine monitor (VMM) that forms an interface between the VM and the system software; wherein at least a portion of the virtual network interface device is a component of the VMM; wherein the method further comprises: generating a trap into the VMM to initiate handling of the data packets; and deferring the trap until an occurrence of a triggering event; wherein the triggering event is that a number of guest address pointers that have accumulated in the guest network transmission queue since a previous trap to handle the data packets exceeds a predetermined maximum.