Patent ID: 8553720

Claim:
A network device comprising: a media access controller; a first first-in first-out buffer configured to (i) receive data from the media access controller, and (ii) store the data from the media access controller; a physical-layer device; and a control circuit comprising a read circuit configured to transfer the data from the first first-in first-out buffer to the physical-layer device, wherein the physical layer device is configured to transmit a signal representing the data transferred to the physical layer device, and a transmit pause circuit configured to transmit a pause frame to the media access controller when an amount of the data stored in the first first-in first-out buffer exceeds a predetermined threshold, wherein, based on the pause frame, the media access controller is configured to adjust a rate at which the media access controller transfers the data from the media access controller to the physical-layer device (i) via the first first-in first-out buffer, and (ii) within the network device, and wherein the control circuit is connected between the media access controller and the physical-layer device.