Patent ID: 7801449

Claim:
In an optical transceiver that is communicatively coupled to a host computing system, the optical transceiver including a system memory and at least one processor, a method for paging microcode segments from the host computing system to system memory of the optical transceiver, the method comprising the following: an act of the optical transceiver requesting a first microcode segment from the host computing system in response to changing operational circumstances of the optical transceiver including at least one of a life cycle change in the optical transceiver, a temperature change in the optical transceiver, and a transition from completion of a process executed using a second microcode segment in the system memory to a process requiring the requested first microcode segment; an act of the optical transceiver receiving the requested first microcode segment from the host computing system; an act of the at least one processor executing the first microcode segment from the system memory, wherein the first microcode segment is structured such that, when executed by the at least one processor, the optical transceiver is adaptive towards the changing operational circumstances; and an act of returning the first microcode segment to the host computing system if the first microcode segment is less likely to be used relative to other microcode segments given the changing operational circumstances.