Patent ID: 6880158

Claim:
In a distributed processing system, a method for providing scalable device driver services within a control system of a network processor services architecture, said method comprising the steps of: in response to determining a desired network processor functionality, loading one or more of a plurality of functional components, wherein said one or more functional components provide the desired network processor functionality and wherein each of said plurality of functional components are independently selectable and provide a respective one of a plurality of network processor services; providing at least one utility interposed between said one or more of said plurality of functional components and an operating system (OS) of said control system, wherein said at least one utility provides an OS-independent communication interface for said plurality of functional components and enables bi-directional communication between said network processor functionality and said OS; wherein said providing step further provides a translation utility which translates all incoming and outgoing service requests into a common network processor language to permit seamless connection and correspondence between said one or more network processors, said operating system, and each of said functional components to enable handling of network packets; and in response to a receipt of a packet at said control system, first routing said packet through said utility, where said packet is decoded into a common code understandable by said OS and said one of said plurality of functional components, then handling said packet utilizing a selected one of said plurality of functional components, wherein said utility also converts all low and high level APIs of various components into a specific communication type utilized by the network processor functionality.