Patent ID: 6947430

Claim:
A network interface device, comprising: host interface logic, arranged to receive from a host processor a frame of outgoing data that includes outgoing header information and outgoing payload data, the outgoing header information comprising a variable data length parameter, and to separate the header information from the payload data; an outgoing data memory, coupled to receive the outgoing payload data from the host interface logic; an outgoing header memory, coupled to receive the outgoing header information from the host interface logic; a transmit protocol processor, coupled to read and process the outgoing header information from the outgoing header memory so as to generate a plurality of outgoing packet headers in accordance with a predetermined network protocol; and transmit logic, coupled to receive the plurality of outgoing packet headers and to select a corresponding portion of the outgoing payload data from the outgoing data memory, responsively to the data length parameter, for association with each of the packet headers, so as to distribute the outgoing payload data among a sequence of outgoing data packets for transmission over a network in accordance with the protocol.