Patent ID: 6925058

Claim:
A method for communicating between a first device and a second device, wherein the communication occurs across a fabric and the first device is coupled to the fabric by a first gateway and the second device is coupled to the fabric by a second gateway, the method comprising: adjusting, at the first gateway, upon receipt of a first device readiness signal a first device readiness indicator to indicate an increase in a number of frames the first device is ready to accept; sending, from the first gateway to the second gateway, a first gateway readiness signal, the first gateway readiness signal indicative of an increase in a number of frames the first gateway is ready to accept; receiving, at an input buffer of the first gateway from the second gateway, a first device frame; sending, from the first gateway to the first device, the first device frame when the first device readiness indicator indicates that the first device is ready to accept the first device frame; and adjusting, at the first gateway, the first device readiness indicator upon sending the first device frame to the first device to indicate a decrease in the number of frames the first device is ready to accept.