Patent ID: 7852777

Claim:
A network hardware device connected to a network, comprising: a host controller executing processing based on data transmitted from the network; a reception buffer storing data transmitted from the network; a reception section receiving data transmitted from the network, allowing the reception buffer to store the received data, and outputting a completion signal indicating one of completion of the reception and occurrence of an error; a timer section measuring a preset time, and enabling a WAIT signal during the measurement; and a delay section generating an interrupt signal indicating one of completion of the reception and occurrence of the error upon reception of the completion signal from the reception section, outputting the interrupt signal to the timer section and the host controller when the timer section disables a WAIT signal, suspending output of the interrupt signal when the timer section enables a WAIT signal, and outputting the interrupt signal to the timer section and the host controller when the timer section disables a WAIT signal again, wherein the timer section starts to measure a time upon reception of an interrupt signal from the delay section without depending on a count of packets of the received data, enables a WAIT signal during the measurement, and disables a WAIT signal after a lapse of a preset time, the preset time period for the timer section includes g (an integer of not less than 2) kinds of preset times from a preset time 1 to a preset time g, and based on measured magnitude of a processing load, the host controller is for selecting a time measured relatively longer from preset times m (1≦m≦g) when the processing load is large, selecting a time measured relatively shorter from the preset times m (1≦m≦g) when the processing load is small, and setting the timer section at the respective selected times.