Patent ID: 8504690

Claim:
A method for networking, the method comprising: in a network domain comprising a single logical point of management (LPM) that coordinates operation of one or more devices in said network domain, respective devices of the one or more devices in said network domain having respective power and operation modes: managing by said single LPM, a network power policy and a data center bridging (DCB) configuration policy for said network domain based on one or more parameters of a switch and a network interface controller (NIC) that are mismatched, including receiving the network power policy for the network domain, determining respective power and operation modes for the respective devices using the received network power policy; adjusting respective communication parameters for communication among the respective devices to satisfy performance requirements for said communication among the respective devices in said network domain among a plurality of modes relating power consumption and communication performance of the respective devices and also to satisfy the received network power policy; selecting a mode of operation of said one or more devices based on said managed network power policy for said network domain; and arbitrating between two or more conflicting DCB configuration policies for said one or more devices based on a minimum bandwidth available.