Crossbar Patents (Class 710/317)
  • Patent number: 8375173
    Abstract: A method includes predicting a memory access pattern of each master of a plurality of masters. The plurality of masters can access a multi-channel memory via a crossbar interconnect, where the multi-channel memory has a plurality of banks. The method includes identifying a page size associated with each bank of the plurality of banks. The method also includes assigning at least one bank of the plurality of banks to each master of the plurality of masters based on the memory access pattern of each master.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2013
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Feng Wang, Matthew Michael Nowak, Jonghae Kim
  • Patent number: 8370656
    Abstract: The power and data hub is a fan-less modular electronic system having a main housing member that forms a heat sink, which houses an electronic switch fabric backbone. The electronic switch fabric backbone connects multiple modular slots using a connection fabric backplane, which provides low voltage power input and command protocols. Cross-matrix switches are provided to interconnect stand-alone audio-visual, computer and other data, such as audio I/O, video I/O, and outputs via the integrated switch fabric backbone. Multifunction modular cards are provided and securely insert into modular slots disposed in the main housing unit. The system includes a control and DC power injector management unit for power control of connected units. Power management instructions can be issued to the main unit and modular cards. A network-based management utility controls, monitors and records operational parameters, and also stores and translates programmed instructions to the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Inventor: Aseem Gupta
  • Patent number: 8370556
    Abstract: A multi-core LSI with improved stability of operation. The multi-core LSI includes a plurality of CPUs coupled to a first shared bus, one or more modules coupled to a second shared bus, a shared bus controller coupled between the first shared bus and the second shared bus for arbitrating access to the module(s) by the CPUs, and a system controller that monitors whether or not a response signal to an access request signal of the CPUs is output from a module to be accessed, wherein the system controller outputs a pseudo response signal to the first shared bus via the shared bus controller to terminate access by the CPU while accessing if the response signal is not output from the module to be accessed after the access request signal is output to the second shared bus from the shared bus controller and before a predetermined time elapses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Mamoru Sakugawa
  • Patent number: 8358661
    Abstract: Systems and methods to remotely configure adapters are described. A particular method may include generating a management frame at a controlling bridge. The management frame may include instructions to configure an operating parameter of the adapter. The management frame may be communicated to a bridge element of a plurality of interconnected bridge elements in communication with the controlling bridge. The bridge element may be coupled to the adapter, and the operating parameter of the adapter may be configured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: William J. Armstrong, Josep Cors, David R. Engebretsen, Jeffrey J. Lynch
  • Patent number: 8359421
    Abstract: A method includes identifying a first set of masters and a second set of masters from a plurality of masters. The plurality of masters have access to a multi-channel memory via a crossbar interconnect. The method includes partitioning the crossbar interconnect into a plurality of partitions comprising at least a first partition corresponding to the first set of masters and a second partition corresponding to the second set of masters. The method also includes allocating a first set of buffer areas within the multi-channel memory. The first set of buffer areas correspond to the first set of masters. The method further includes allocating a second set of buffer areas within the multi-channel memory. The second set of buffers correspond to the second set of masters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2013
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventors: Feng Wang, Matthew Michael Nowak, Jonghae Kim
  • Patent number: 8352668
    Abstract: A USB printer sharing switch device with automatic switching capabilities is provided for multiple computers to share a USB printer. The sharing switch device transfers USB data between the computers and the printer without changing the data format. The automatic switching function is performed by hardware and firmware of the sharing switch device in cooperation with driver software on the computers. In one implementation, the sharing switch device includes multiple USB device controllers corresponding to the multiple computers, and employs multiple switches and a USB hub so that each computer is connected to its corresponding controller and the computer that is currently connected to the printer can communicate with its controller while printing. The current computer transmits a spooling finished command to its controller when spooling is finished. After receiving the spooling finished command, the sharing switch device automatically switches the printer to another computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Aten International Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Xiong Yan
  • Patent number: 8352669
    Abstract: Described embodiments provide for transfer of data between data modules. At least two crossbar switches are employed, where input nodes and output nodes of each crossbar switch are coupled to corresponding data modules. The ith crossbar switch has an Ni-input by Mi-output switch fabric, wherein Ni and Mi are positive integers greater than one. Each crossbar switch includes an input buffer at each input node, a crosspoint buffer at each crosspoint of the switch fabric, and an output buffer at each output node. The input buffer has an arbiter that reads data packets from the input buffer according to a first scheduling algorithm. An arbiter reads data packets from a crosspoint buffer queue according to a second scheduling algorithm. The output node receives segments of data packets provided from one or more corresponding crosspoint buffers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: LSI Corporation
    Inventors: Ephrem Wu, Ting Zhou, Steven Pollock
  • Patent number: 8352663
    Abstract: A data storage apparatus having improved data transfer performance. The storage apparatus has: plural controllers connected to each other by first data transfer paths; plural processors controlling the controllers; and second data transfer paths through which the controllers send data to various devices. Each of the controllers has a data-processing portion for transferring data to the first and second data transfer paths. The data-processing portion has a header detection portion for detecting first header information constituting data, a selection portion for selecting data sets having continuous addresses of transfer destination and using the same data transfer path from plural data sets such that a coupled data set is created from the selected data sets, a header creation portion for creating second header information about the coupled data set, and coupled data creation means for creating the coupled data set from the selected data sets and from the second header information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventor: Hiroshi Hirayama
  • Publication number: 20130007337
    Abstract: A system and method of transmitting data frames between a plurality of input ports to a plurality of output ports is described. The input ports segment portions of the received data frames to provide smaller data cells which are individually transmitted to an output port associated with a destination of the segmented data frame. Based upon information provided in the data cells received at the output port, the output port determines the ordinal positions of the received data cells within the segmented data frame and reassembles the data frame which was segmented at the input port. The output port then forwards the reassembled frame toward the associated destination.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2012
    Publication date: January 3, 2013
    Inventor: Robert M. Grow
  • Patent number: 8346884
    Abstract: A shared network interface controller (NIC) interfaces a plurality of operating system domains as part of the load-store architecture of the operating system domains. A bus interface couples the NIC to a load-store domain bus (such as PCI-Express), using header information to associate data on the bus with an originating operating system domain. Transmit/receive logic connects the NIC to the network. Association logic allows the NIC to designate, and later lookup, which destination MAC address (on the Ethernet side) is associated with which operating system domain. Descriptor register files and Control Status Registers (CSR's) specific to an operating system domain are duplicated and made available for each domain. Several direct memory access (DMA) engines are provided to improve throughput. Packet replication logic, filters (perfect and hash) and VLAN tables are used for looping back packets originating from one operating system domains to another and other operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 1, 2013
    Assignee: Nextio Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher J. Pettey
  • Patent number: 8341327
    Abstract: In order to provide an inexpensive way to share an I/O device loaded in an I/O drawer among a plurality of blades, in a server system including a plurality of servers, a PCI device, and a manager for initializing a PCI switch, the PCI device has a plurality of virtual functions (VFs). The PCI switch, which has VF allocation information which indicates association between the servers and the VFs, is configured to: receive a transaction from one of the servers or from the PCI device; when the received transaction is a transaction sent from the one of the servers, remove a server identifier with which a sender server is identified and transfer the received transaction to the PCI device; and when the received transaction is a transaction sent from the PCI device, attach a server identifier that is determined based on the VF allocation information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashige Baba, Toshiomi Moriki, Keitaro Uehara
  • Publication number: 20120324140
    Abstract: A method for encoding bits to be stored within a crossbar memory architecture performed by a physical computing system includes designating, with the physical computing system, a subset of crosspoints within a crossbar matrix, the crossbar matrix comprising a number of disjointed intersecting wire segments, the subset corresponding to a predetermined path through the crossbar matrix; and encoding, with the physical computing system, a number of data bits to be placed along the predetermined path; in which the encoding causes bits pertaining to at least one of the wire segments to be subject to a constraint when the data bits are placed along the predetermined path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2010
    Publication date: December 20, 2012
    Inventors: Erik Ordentlich, Ron M. Roth
  • Patent number: 8335884
    Abstract: A multi-processor architecture for a network device that includes a plurality of barrel cards, each including: a plurality of processors, a PCIe switch coupled to each of the plurality of processors, and packet processing logic coupled to the PCIe switch. The PCIe switch on each barrel card provides high speed flexible data paths for the transmission of incoming/outgoing packets to/from the processors on the barrel card. An external PCIe switch is commonly coupled to the PCIe switches on the barrel cards, as well as to a management processor, thereby providing high speed connections between processors on separate barrel cards, and between the management processor and the processors on the barrel cards.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2012
    Assignee: Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Mehrdad Hamadani, Deepak Bansal, Sam Htin Moy, Sreenivasulu Malli, David Cheung, Mani Kancherla, Sridhar Devarapalli
  • Publication number: 20120317328
    Abstract: A multiprocessor system comprises at least one processing module, at least one I/O module, and an interconnect network to connect the at least one processing module with the at least one input/output module. In an example embodiment, the interconnect network comprises at least two bridges to send and receive transactions between the input/output modules and the processing module. The interconnect network further comprises at least two crossbar switches to route the transactions over a high bandwidth switch connection. Using embodiments of the interconnect network allows high bandwidth communication between processing modules and I/O modules. Standard processing module hardware can be used with the interconnect network without modifying the BIOS or the operating system. Furthermore, using the interconnect network of embodiments of the present invention is non-invasive to the processor motherboard. The processor memory bus, clock, and reset logic all remain intact.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Inventors: Linda J. Rankin, Paul R. Pierce, Gregory E. Dermer, Wen-Hann Wang, Kai Cheng, Richard H. Hofsheier, Nitin Y. Borkar
  • Patent number: 8332552
    Abstract: An integrated processor design includes physical interface macros supporting heterogeneous electrical properties. The processor design comprises a plurality of processing cores and a plurality of physical interfaces to connect to a memory interface, a peripheral component interconnect express (PCI Express or PCIe) interface for input/output, an Ethernet interface for network communication, and/or a serial attached SCSI (SAS) interface for storage. Each physical interface may be programmatically connected to a selected interface controller, such as a memory controller, a PCI Express controller, or an Ethernet controller, for example. A plurality of such controllers may be connected to a switch within the processor design, with the switch also being connected to each physical interface macro. Thus, the physical interface macros may be programmatically connected to a subset of the plurality of controllers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2012
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
    Inventors: Ravi K. Arimilli, Claude Basso, Jean L. Calvignac, Daniel M. Dreps, Edward J. Seminaro
  • Patent number: 8321618
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a mechanism to schedule read data transmissions and write data transmissions to/from a cache to frame buffer logic on the L2 bus. When processing a read or a write command, a scheduling arbiter examines a bus schedule to determine that a read-read conflict, a read-write conflict or a write-read exists, and allocates an available memory space in a read buffer to store the read data causing the conflict until the read return data transmission can be scheduled. In the case of a write command, the scheduling arbiter then transmits a write request to a request buffer. When processing a write request, the request arbiter examines the request buffers to determine whether a write-write conflict. If so, then the request arbiter allocates a memory space in a request buffer to store the write request until the write data transmission can be scheduled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
    Inventors: Shane Keil, John H. Edmondson
  • Patent number: 8291145
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for setting a primary port on a PCI multi-port bridge. More specifically, there is provided a method that comprises detecting a configuration signal at the PCI multi-port bridge and automatically setting the primary port on the PCI multi-port bridge based on the configuration signal. A system for implementing the method is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Dwight D. Riley
  • Patent number: 8285912
    Abstract: A communication infrastructure for a data processing apparatus, and a method of operation of such a communication infrastructure are provided. The communication infrastructure provides first and second switching circuits interconnected via a bidirectional link. Both of the switching circuits employ a multi-channel communication protocol, such that for each transaction a communication path is established from an initiating master interface to a target slave interface, with that communication path comprising m channels. The m channels comprise one or more forward channels from the initiating master interface to the target slave interface and one or more reverse channels from the target slave interface to the initiating master interface, and handshaking signals are associated with each of the m channels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2009
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Brett Stanley Feero, Peter Andrew Riocreux, Andrew David Tune
  • Patent number: 8260991
    Abstract: A data processing apparatus and method for measuring a value of a predetermined property of transactions are provided. The data processing apparatus has initiator circuitry for initiating transactions, recipient circuitry for handling each transaction initiator by the initiator circuitry, and a communication path interconnecting the initiator circuitry and the recipient circuitry via which the transactions are propagated between the initiator circuitry and the recipient circuitry. Measurement circuitry is coupled to the communication path for measuring a value of a predetermined property of the transactions, such as the latency of those transactions. The measurement circuitry has active transaction count circuitry for maintaining an indication of the number of transactions in progress, and accumulator circuitry for maintaining an accumulator value which is increased dependent on the number of transactions in progress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2012
    Assignee: ARM Limited
    Inventors: Alistair Crone Bruce, Timothy Charles Mace
  • Patent number: 8255610
    Abstract: Crossbar circuitry has data input and output paths, and at each intersection between a data input and output path, a crossbar cell is provided. A transmission circuit is responsive to a stored routing value to couple a data input path to a selected data output path. Pre-selection circuitry cooperates with the pre-selection circuits of other crossbar cells on the same data output path to use the bit lines of the data output path to compare quality-of-service values associated with multiple asserted transmission requests and to determine a subset thereof which have a highest value of the quality-of-service values. Arbitration circuitry implements a predetermined priority scheme to choose from that subset of requests and to cause the configuration storage circuit of only one crossbar cell associated with the same data output path to have its routing value programmed to the first value, thereby resolving conflict between multiple asserted transmission requests.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Sudhir Kumar Satpathy, David Theodore Blaauw, Trevor Nigel Mudge, Dennis Michael Sylvester
  • Patent number: 8250280
    Abstract: A system-on-a-chip (SOC) bridge is described that applies an adapted delay, or latency, to data transfers across the bridge to avoid data corruption without reducing data transfer performance. The adapted delay assures that a source SOC service device transferring data to a destination SOC service device via the bridge and an SOC crossbar bus does not prematurely assume that the data transfer is complete upon transferring the data to the bridge. The bridge causes wait states to be inserted into the transfer between the source SOC service device and the SOC bridge until the SOC bridge receives confirmation that the data has arrived at the destination SOC service device. The adapted delay assures that subsequent operations are not prematurely initiated by the source SOC service device and/or the SOC CPU that may interfere with the data transfer from the SOC bridge to the destination SOC service device, resulting in corrupted data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Marvell Israel (M.I.S.L.) Ltd.
    Inventors: Tarek Rohana, Yuval Avnon
  • Publication number: 20120210040
    Abstract: An integrated circuit (IC) having an on-die data network is disclosed. The IC includes a first bus and second buses configured to convey signals in first and second directions, respectively, along a first axis. The second direction is opposite the first. The IC further includes third and fourth buses configured to convey signals in third and fourth directions, respectively, along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The fourth direction is opposite the third. Each bus is N-bits wide and unidirectional. Signal lines of two different buses having equal bit significance and opposite direction are arranged adjacent to one another. A crossbar unit having N crossbar switching circuits is configured to couple signal lines of a selected one of the buses to a corresponding signal line of another selected one of the buses. The signal lines of the buses are implemented on different metal layers than the crossbar switching circuits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 14, 2011
    Publication date: August 16, 2012
    Inventors: Robert P. Masleid, Thirumalai Suresh
  • Patent number: 8245177
    Abstract: Embodiments provide crossbar structures, and reconfigurable circuits that contain crossbar structures, that include n inputs and an output, where n is an integer, chains of transistors coupled to the n inputs and the output, a plurality of control signal elements—each coupled to one or more transistors of the plurality of chains of transistors to selectively couple said n inputs to the output—and an additional chain of transistors coupled to at least some of the plurality of control signal elements and the output to selectively couple a constant output voltage to the output. Other embodiments may be disclosed and claimed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Meta Systems
    Inventors: Olivier V. Lepape, Philippe Piquet
  • Patent number: 8244952
    Abstract: A processor-based electronic system includes several memory modules arranged in first and second ranks. The memory modules in the first rank are directly accessed by any of several processors, and the memory modules in the second rank are accessed by the processors through the memory modules in the first rank. The data bandwidth between the processors and the memory modules in the second rank is varied by varying the number of memory modules in the first rank that are used to access the memory module in the second set. Each of the memory modules includes several memory devices coupled to a memory hub. The memory hub includes a memory controller coupled to each memory device, a link interface coupled to a respective processor or memory module, and a cross bar switch coupling any of the memory controllers to any of the link interfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2012
    Assignee: Round Rock Research, LLC
    Inventor: Joseph M. Jeddeloh
  • Patent number: 8230152
    Abstract: Crossbar circuitry, and a method of operation of such crossbar circuitry, are provided. The crossbar circuitry has an array of data input paths and data output paths where the data output paths are transverse to the data input paths. At each intersection between a data input path and a data output path, a crossbar cell is provided that comprises a configuration storage circuit programmable to store a routing value, a transmission circuit, and an arbitration circuit. In a transmission mode of operation, the transmission circuit is responsive to the routing value being a first value, indicating that the data input path should be coupled to the data output path, to detect the data input along the data input path, and to output an indication of that data on the data output path at the associated intersection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2012
    Assignee: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Sudhir Kumar Satpathy, David Theodore Blaauw, Trevor Nigel Mudge, Dennis Michael Sylvester
  • Publication number: 20120159037
    Abstract: A memory interleaving device includes a slave interface, a master interface, and a crossbar switch. The slave interface is connected with a master intellectual property through an on-chip network. The master interface is connected with a slave intellectual property. The crossbar switch connects the slave interface with the master interface. The memory interleaving device transmits requests from the master intellectual property to the slave intellectual property, receives data or responses respectively corresponding to the requests from the slave intellectual property, and transmits the data or responses to the master intellectual property in an order in which the requests are received.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2011
    Publication date: June 21, 2012
    Inventors: Woo Cheol KWON, Jae Geun Yun, Sung-Min Hong
  • Patent number: 8150670
    Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a simulator for verifying plural products with common hardware configuration, in which peripheral hardware that can be reused are constituted by hardware and other peripheral hardware is constituted by software simulator, and simulation method. A simulator comprises: a hardware section that includes a peripheral hardware configuration with a structure required for a CPU and OS to operate alone; a software section that simulates the operation of peripheral hardware other than hardware constituting the hardware section as a peripheral hardware model; and an interface board that connects the hardware section and software section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2008
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignees: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Toshiba Solutions Corporation
    Inventors: Shogo Ishii, Toshiyuki Ohno
  • Publication number: 20120079352
    Abstract: The disclosed embodiments relate to a Flash-based memory module having high-speed serial communication. The Flash-based memory module comprises, among other things, a plurality of I/O modules, each configured to communicate with an external device over one or more external communication links, a plurality of Flash-based memory cards, each comprising a plurality of Flash memory devices, and a plurality of crossbar switching elements, each being connected to a respective one of the Flash-based memory cards and configured to allow each one of the I/O modules to communicate with the respective one of the Flash-based memory cards. Each I/O module is connected to each crossbar switching element by a high-speed serial communication link, and each crossbar switching element is connected to the respective one of the Flash-based memory cards by a plurality of parallel communication links.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: TEXAS MEMORY SYSTEMS, INC.
    Inventors: Holloway H. FROST, Rebecca J. HUTSELL
  • Publication number: 20120079200
    Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for providing a unified memory for access by execution threads in a processing system. Several logically separate memories are combined into a single unified memory that includes a single set of shared memory banks, an allocation of space in each bank across the logical memories, a mapping rule that maps the address space of each logical memory to its partition of the shared physical memory, a circuitry including switches and multiplexers that supports the mapping, and an arbitration scheme that allocates access to the banks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Inventor: William James DALLY
  • Patent number: 8145823
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that schedules the transfer of cells in a switch. The system starts by receiving a set of cells to be transferred from a set of inputs of the switch to a set of outputs of the switch. The system includes S subschedulers, wherein each subscheduler processes N scheduling waves in sequence to generate a conflict-free transfer schedule for a given time slot for a matrix of transfer elements in the switch. The system then operates the subschedulers in parallel to generate S transfer schedules to transfer the cells from the set of inputs of the switch to the set of outputs of the switch during S time slots.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 27, 2012
    Assignee: Oracle America, Inc.
    Inventors: Wladyslaw Olesinski, Hans Eberle, Nils Gura
  • Patent number: 8140734
    Abstract: A signal switch for sharing a video monitor, a plurality of console devices compliant with an industry standard and one or more than one peripheral device in any of a plurality of computer systems, is provided comprising a CPU with a first memory for storing a management program for managing the signal switch; a hub switch module connected to the CPU and configured to communicate with any of the plurality of computer systems, and the one or more than one peripheral device; a device control module for emulating according to the industry standard the plurality of console devices, connected to the CPU and the hub switch module; a host control module connected to the CPU and configured to communicate with the plurality of console devices; and a video control module connected to the CPU and configured to communicate with a video monitor device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Aten Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Tony Lou, Kevin Chen, Sampson Yang
  • Publication number: 20120059966
    Abstract: The invention relates to a storage device in which MR-IOV is applied to the internal network of a storage controller, whereby the size of the storage device can be easily expanded. The storage device is expanded on the basis of a network having processor-connected RPs, FE I/F, BE I/F, and CM I/F that are connected with a switch. In the switch, a plurality of ports other than those connected to the RPs, FE I/F, BE I/F, and CM I/F are connected with a cross-link. Each processor is allowed to control the FE I/F, BE I/F, or CM I/F either via a path that passes through the cross-link or via a path that does not pass through the cross-link within the unit device. When unit devices are connected to expand the size of a storage device, the cross-link is removed first and then the unit devices are connected with a new cross-link (see FIG. 4).
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 23, 2010
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Inventors: Katsuya Tanaka, Masanori Takada
  • Publication number: 20120047310
    Abstract: Crossbar circuitry has data input and output paths, and at each intersection between a data input and output path, a crossbar cell is provided. A transmission circuit is responsive to a stored routing value to couple a data input path to a selected data output path. Pre-selection circuitry cooperates with the pre-selection circuits of other crossbar cells on the same data output path to use the bit lines of the data output path to compare quality-of-service values associated with multiple asserted transmission requests and to determine a subset thereof which have a highest value of the quality-of-service values. Arbitration circuitry implements a predetermined priority scheme to choose from that subset of requests and to cause the configuration storage circuit of only one crossbar cell associated with the same data output path to have its routing value programmed to the first value, thereby resolving conflict between multiple asserted transmission requests.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: The Regents of the University of Michigan
    Inventors: Sudhir Kumar Satpathy, David Theodore Blaauw, Trevor Nigel Mudge, Dennis Michael Sylvester
  • Patent number: 8120612
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for efficiently and intelligently communicating characteristic information in video graphics switcher environments. An intelligent video graphics switcher obtains display device characteristic information associated with multiple display devices and maintains updated characteristic information. When an event such as a connection/disconnection or switching event occurs between the video graphics switcher and a display device, the characteristic information is communicated to an appropriate host by triggering a connection/disconnection event with the host.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: RGB Spectrum
    Inventors: Don Day, David Haycock
  • Patent number: 8108586
    Abstract: To provide a multi-core LSI capable of improving the stability of operation. A multi-core LSI comprises a plurality of CPUs coupled to a first shared bus, one or more modules coupled to a second shared bus, a shared bus controller coupled between the first shared bus and the second shared bus, for arbitrating an access to the module (s) by the CPUs, and a system controller that monitors whether or not a response signal to an access request signal of the CPUs is output from module to be accessed, wherein the system controller outputs a pseudo response signal to the first shared bus via the shared bus controller to terminate the access by the CPU while accessing if the response signal is not output from the module to be accessed after the access request signal is output to the second shared bus from the shared bus controller and before a predetermined time elapses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Renesas Electronics Corporation
    Inventor: Mamoru Sakugawa
  • Patent number: 8108585
    Abstract: Crossbar circuitry, and a method of operation of such crossbar circuitry, are provided. The crossbar circuitry has an array of data input paths and data output paths where the data output paths are transverse to the data input paths. At each intersection between a data input path and a data output path, a crossbar cell is provided that comprises a storage circuit programmable to store a routing value, and a transmission circuit. In a transmission mode of operation the transmission circuit is responsive to the routing value indicating that the data input path should be coupled to the data output path to detect the data input along the data input path, and to output an indication of that data on the data output path at the associated intersection. Control circuitry is used to issue control signals to the crossbar cells, and during a configuration mode of operation the control circuitry re-utilizes at least one of the data output paths to program the storage circuitry of one or more of the crossbar cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: The Regents of the Universtiy of Michigan
    Inventors: Sudhir Kumar Satpathy, David Theodore Blaauw, Trevor Nigel Mudge, Dennis Michael Sylvester, Ronald George Dreslinski, Jr.
  • Patent number: 8102843
    Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided that enable I/O devices to be shared among multiple operating system domains. The apparatus has a first plurality of I/O ports, a second I/O port, and core logic. The first plurality of I/O ports is coupled to a plurality of operating system domains through a PCI Express fabric. Each of the first plurality of I/O ports is configured to route PCI Express transactions between said plurality of operating system domains and the switching apparatus. The second I/O port is coupled to a first shared input/output endpoint, where the first shared input/output endpoint is configured to request/complete said PCI Express transactions for each of the plurality of operating system domains. The core logic is coupled to the first plurality of I/O ports and the second I/O port. The core logic routes the PCI Express transactions between the first plurality of I/O ports and the second I/O port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2012
    Assignee: Emulex Design and Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventors: Christopher J. Pettey, Asif Khan, Annette Pagan, Richard E. Pekkala, Robert Haskell Utley
  • Patent number: 8099540
    Abstract: A reconfigurable circuit includes a network circuit for controlling connections between the output terminal and the input terminal of an arithmetic unit group, and a first selector connected between the arithmetic unit group and the network circuit. When a first control signal is in a first state, the first selector connects a first terminal of the arithmetic unit group to a first terminal of the network circuit, and also connects a second terminal of the arithmetic unit group to a second terminal of the network circuit. Meanwhile, when the first control signal is in a second state, the first selector connects the first terminal of the arithmetic unit group to the second terminal of the network circuit, and also connects the second terminal of the arithmetic unit group to the first terminal of the network circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Fujitsu Semiconductor Limited
    Inventors: Takashi Hanai, Tetsuo Kawano
  • Patent number: 8095721
    Abstract: A network switch with a plurality of crossbar switches that is available to suppress increase in the circuit scale is provided. The network switch has: the plurality of crossbar switches that transfer unit data in a specified format; a receiving side transfer unit that transfers data received from a network to the plurality of crossbar switches in the unit data basis; and a plurality of transmitting side transfer units that transmit data transferred from the plurality of crossbar switches to the network. The receiving side transfer sets a consecutive serial number to the unit data in transfer sequence, and distributes the unit data to the plurality of crossbar switches. Each of the plurality of transmitting side transfer units has a plurality of queues for the respective crossbar switches that stores the transferred unit data, and extracts the unit data with smallest serial number of the unit data stored in the queues when all of the queues store the unit data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: ALAXALA Networks Corporation
    Inventors: Isao Kimura, Mitsuo Yamamoto, Michitaka Okuno
  • Patent number: 8095722
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are provided for implementing connection management in SAS expander devices. SAS expanders are commonly used within a SAS network topology to allow multiple disk drives to connect to multiple host devices. The method and apparatus provides arbitration of connection requests to be setup or removed among multiple end devices and expander devices so as to increase system performance and reduce hardware cost in a standard compliant manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: PMC-Sierra US, Inc.
    Inventors: Heng Liao, Kuan Hua Tan, Calvin Leung
  • Patent number: 8090973
    Abstract: An interconnection system is described where data lanes may be exchanged between lines at intervals along a transmission path so that the differential time delay between bits on a plurality of the lines is reduced when determined at a receiving location. The data lanes may be bound to the lines through the operation of a configurable switch, or by a configurable switch in conjunction with predetermined manufactured connections, or a combination of the techniques. The wiring of a connectorized node module, which may include a memory device, may be configured so that the differential time delay between pairs of input lines of a node, as measured at the output of a node, is reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Violin Memory, Inc.
    Inventor: Jon C. R. Bennett
  • Patent number: 8090895
    Abstract: An information processing system including plural information processing devices multi-dimensionally connected with one another, where each of the information processing devices includes first and second receiving storage devices to store data allocated to first and second virtual channels in respective data transmitting and receiving directions, a virtual channel control unit to compare a position in a dimension of a destination information processing device with a position in the same dimension of an own information processing device, and if the comparison result indicates that the position of the own information processing device matches a position one information processing device before the position of the destination information processing device, change one of the first and the second virtual channels to the other one, and a data storage unit to store the allocated data in a corresponding one of the first and second storage devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Yuzo Takagi
  • Publication number: 20110320678
    Abstract: A crosspoint selector switch for simultaneously supporting multiple data formats having different switch reconfiguration timing requirements, comprising; a configurable switch section for selectively connecting outputs thereof to receive data from respective inputs thereof in response to operational switch data; and a configuration section operatively connected to provide the operational switch data to the switch section, the configuration section storing switch configuration data supporting multiple different configurations of the switch section, the configuration section being operative to receive different operational update commands each associated with a different configuration for the switch section and update the operational switch data from the stored switch configuration data to reconfigure the switch section in dependence on which of the different operational update commands is received.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2010
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Applicant: GENNUM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nigel Seth-Smith, John Hudson
  • Patent number: 8081778
    Abstract: A VOX interface is provided that interfaces with at least two communication paths to two separate devices. One communication path may be to a first electronic device, such as a central monitoring station remote from the VOX interface, and another communication path may be to one or more remote devices, such as to one or more patient devices remote from the VOX interface. The VOX interface may determine which of the communication paths is sending a signal (such as an audio signal), and configure the VOX interface (via one or more switches) to pass the signal through. Specifically, the VOX interface may sense signals indicating the presence of audio from a central station audio bus and the patient station bus, may do some background noise filtering on the signals, and may pass these filtered values through a differentiator circuit to determine which bus presented the audio.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2007
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: SimplexGrinnell LP
    Inventor: Joseph D. Farley
  • Patent number: 8082381
    Abstract: In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a corresponding list of muxes is maintained for each combination of a peripheral and a mux option. The list is then retrieved to program the required muxes to connect the communication paths from a peripheral on the corresponding mux option, based on which the list is retrieved. In an embodiment, the information is maintained in the form of a table, with each entry storing the data corresponding to a mux and mux option. The entries are linked by appropriate pointers to form the linked list.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
    Inventors: Sreenivas Reddy, Vikas Bansal, Kiran Kumar Kathireddy
  • Patent number: 8065465
    Abstract: One embodiment of the invention sets forth a control crossbar unit that is designed to transmit control information from control information generators to destination components within the computer system. The control information may belong to various traffic paradigms, such as short-latency data traffic, narrow-width data traffic or broadcast data traffic. The physical connections within the control crossbar unit are categorized based on the different types of control information being transmitted through the control crossbar unit. The physical connections belong to the following categories: one-to-one (OTO) connections, one-to-many (OTM) connections, valid-to-one (VTO) connections, valid-to-many (VTM) connections wire-to-one (WTO) connections and wire-to-many (WTM) connections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
    Inventors: Dane Mrazek, Yongxiang Liu, Yin Fung Tang, David Glasco
  • Publication number: 20110283038
    Abstract: An information processing system including plural information processing devices multi-dimensionally connected with one another, where each of the information processing devices includes first and second receiving storage devices to store data allocated to first and second virtual channels in respective data transmitting and receiving directions, a virtual channel control unit to compare a position in a dimension of a destination information processing device with a position in the same dimension of an own information processing device, and if the comparison result indicates that the position of the own information processing device matches a position one information processing device before the position of the destination information processing device, change one of the first and the second virtual channels to the other one, and a data storage unit to store the allocated data in a corresponding one of the first and second storage devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2011
    Publication date: November 17, 2011
    Applicant: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Yuzo Takagi
  • Patent number: 8060682
    Abstract: System and method to configure switch systems are disclosed. A switch system includes leaf modules with internal ports and spine modules with ports. A midplane includes first layers closer to a first side, second layers closer to a second side and third layers between the first layers and the second layers. The midplane receives the leaf modules and the spine modules about both the first side and the second side. Conductors of the third layers couple internal ports of the leaf modules about one side to a port of spine modules about the other side. Conductors of the first layers couple internal ports of the leaf modules with ports of the spine modules about the first side. Conductors of the second layers couple internal ports of the leaf modules with ports of the spine modules about the second side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: QLOGIC, Corporation
    Inventors: Wayne A. Genetti, Brent R. Rothermel, Vladimir Tamarkin
  • Patent number: 8051238
    Abstract: An on-chip bus includes a plurality of switch points including first and second switch points, a plurality of inter-switch links including at least one inter-switch link coupled between the first switch point and the second switch point and configured to communicate data between the first switch point and the second switch point, and a plurality of functional block cores including first and second functional block cores coupled directly to the first switch point and configured to communicate data through the first switch point. Data transmitted from the first functional block core to the second functional block cores may pass through the first switch point without traversing any of the plurality of inter-switch links. Methods for communicating data on an on-chip bus are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2011
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Chae-Eun Rhee
  • Publication number: 20110258361
    Abstract: Disclosed is a method and system for performing operations on at least one input data vector in order to produce at least one output vector to permit easy, scalable and fast programming of a petascale equivalent supercomputer. A PetaFlops Router may comprise one or more PetaFlops Nodes, which may be connected to each other and/or external data provider/consumers via a programmable crossbar switch external to the PetaFlops Node. Each PetaFlops Node has a FPGA and a programmable intra-FPGA crossbar switch that permits input and output variables to be configurably connected to various physical operators contained in the FPGA as desired by a user. This allows a user to specify the instruction set of the system on a per-application basis. Further, the intra-FPGA crossbar switch permits the output of one operation to be delivered as an input to a second operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 20, 2010
    Publication date: October 20, 2011
    Applicant: Los Alamos National Security, LLC
    Inventors: Zachary Kent Baker, John Fredrick Power, Justin Leonard Tripp, Mark Edward Dunham, Matthew W. Stettler, John Alexander Jones