Patent ID: 8001256

Claim:
A system for supporting a network protocol, comprising: a first memory, the first memory comprising program instructions for processing upper and lower layers of the network protocol for outgoing data packets and incoming data packets; a first processor, wherein the first processor processes the upper layers of the network protocol for an outgoing data packet according to the program instructions in the first memory by packing upper layers of the network protocol for the outgoing data packet by the first processor, resulting in an interim data, and storing the interim data in a data memory; and a second processor, wherein the second processor processes lower layers of the network protocol for the outgoing data packet according to the program instructions in the first memory by fetching the interim data from the data memory and packing lower layers of the network protocol for the interim data; and further wherein the second processor processes lower layers of the network protocol for an incoming data packet according to the program instructions in the first memory by receiving an incoming data packet from a medium, unpacking lower layers of the network protocol for the incoming data packet, resulting in an interim data, storing the interim data in a data memory, and sending an interrupt to the first processor to inform the first processor that the interim data has been stored in the data memory; and further wherein the first processor processes the upper layers of the network protocol for the incoming data packet according to the program instructions in the first memory by fetching, in response to the interrupt, the interim data from the data memory, and unpacking upper layers of the network protocol for the interim data.