Abstract: The invention is embodied in a gigabit Ethernet adapter. A system according to the invention provides a compact hardware solution to handling high network communication speeds. In addition, the invention adapts to multiple communication protocols via a modular construction and design.

Abstract: A gigabit Ethernet adapter provides a provides a low-cost, low-power, easily manufacturable, small form-factor network access module which has a low memory demand and provides a highly efficient protocol decode. The invention comprises a hardware-integrated system that both decodes multiple network protocols in a byte-streaming manner concurrently and processes packet data in one pass, thereby reducing system memory and form factor requirements, while also eliminating software CPU overhead. A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of protocol state machines that decode network protocols such as TCP, IP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), PPP, Raw Socket, RARP, ICMP, IGMP, iSCSI, RDMA, and FCIP concurrently as each byte is received. Each protocol handler parses, interprets, and strips header information immediately from the packet, requiring no intermediate memory. The invention provides an Internet tuner core, peripherals, and external interfaces.

Abstract: A multiple network protocol encoder/decoder comprising a network protocol layer, data handler, O.S. State machine, and memory manager state machines implemented at a hardware gate level. Network packets are received from a physical transport level mechanism by the network protocol layer state machine which decodes network protocols such as TCP, IP, User Datagram Protocol (UDP), PPP, and Raw Socket concurrently as each byte is received. Each protocol handler parses and strips header information immediately from the packet, requiring no intermediate memory. The resulting data are passed to the data handler which consists of data state machines that decode data formats such as email, graphics, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Java, and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML).