Patent ID: 7620750

Claim:
Apparatus comprising: at least one initiator processing unit having a streaming buffer; and at least one logical unit having a logical unit buffer; wherein the at least one initiator processing unit is adapted to perform processing unit operations including: running at least one application maintaining the streaming buffer for the at least one application; issuing to the at least one logical unit at least one command including parameters specifying a data transfer request; and allowing the at least one logical unit to estimate the streaming buffer status; and wherein the at least one logical unit is adapted to perform logical unit operations including: transferring data relative to at least one storage medium, responsive to the data transfer request; receiving and storing the parameters; based on the parameters and the transferring of the data, estimating the status of the streaming buffer; based on the estimated status of the streaming buffer, determining a condition relevant to an autonomous non-data transfer operation; feeding the at least one initiator processing unit from the logical unit buffer while the at least one logical unit is performing the autonomous non-data transfer operation.