Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.

Abstract: A Fibre Channel (FC) controller shareable by a plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) within a load-store architecture is disclosed. The controller has a FC port that obtains a plurality of FC port identifiers for association with respective ones of the OSDs. A load-store bus interface is the target of a load-store transaction on a load-store bus from each OSD. The load-store transaction includes a command to perform an I/O operation with a remote FC device. Association logic populates an S_ID field of a FC frame with the FC port identifier associated with the respective OSD that initiated the command. The FC port transmits the FC frame on the FC port to the remote FC device. In one embodiment, the controller interfaces to an Advanced Switching fabric to receive packets encapsulating load-store transactions from the OSDs. Each packet includes an identifier identifying the OSD initiating the transaction.

Abstract: A multiple use core logic chip set is provided in a computer system that may be configured either as a bridge between an accelerated graphics port (“AGP”) bus and host and memory buses, as a bridge between an additional registered peripheral component interconnect (“RegPCI”) bus and the host and memory buses, or as a bridge between a primary PCI bus and an additional RegPCI bus. The function of the multiple use chip set is determined at the time of manufacture of the computer system or in the field whether an AGP bus bridge or an additional registered PCI bus bridge is to be implemented. The multiple use core logic chip set has an arbiter having Request (“REQ”) and Grant (“GNT”) signal lines for each PCI device utilized on the additional registered PCI bus. Selection of the type of bus bridge (AGP or RegPCI) in the multiple use core logic chip set may be made by a hardware signal input, or by software during computer system configuration or power on self test (“POST”).

Abstract: A Fiber Channel (FC) controller shareable by a plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) within a load-store architecture is disclosed. The controller includes a plurality of control/status register (CSR) banks. A respective one of the CSR banks is used by each OSD to request the controller to perform I/O operations with remote FC devices. A load-store bus interface receives from a load-store bus load and store transactions from each OSD. Each transaction includes an OSD identifier identifying the OSD that initiated the transaction. The bus interface directs the transactions to the respective CSR bank based on the OSD identifier. A FC port obtains a distinct FC port identifier for each OSD and transceives FC frames with the remote FC devices using the distinct FC port identifier for each OSD in response to the I/O operation requests. In one embodiment, the controller includes a shared I/O switch coupling the OSDs thereto.

Abstract: A controller shareable by a plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) for communication on a network is disclosed. The controller includes a port for coupling to the network. The port transceives packets with the network for each of the plurality of OSDs. The controller also includes a plurality of replicated programming interfaces that each receive from a respective one of the plurality of OSDs a request to obtain a port ID for the port from the network. The controller obtains from the network a distinct port ID for each of the plurality of OSDs in response to the respective request. The request comprises one or more load-store transactions. In one embodiment, the controller is a shared Fiber Channel controller.

Abstract: A Fibre Channel controller shareable by a plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) is disclosed. The controller includes a programming interface, located within a system load-store memory map of each OSD by which the OSDs request the controller to perform I/O operations with remote FC devices. The programming interface includes a distinct control/status register (CSR) bank for each of OSD. The OSDs execute load-store instructions addressed to the programming interface to request the I/O operations. Selection logic selects as a target of each of the load-store transactions the distinct CSR bank for the OSD that executed the corresponding load-store instruction. An FC port obtains a distinct FC port identifier for each OSD and transceives FC frames with the remote FC devices using the distinct FC port identifier for each OSD in response to the I/O operation requests. In one embodiment, multiple blade servers share the controller via a shared I/O switch.

Abstract: A multiple use core logic chip set is provided in a computer system that may be configured either as a bridge between an accelerated graphics port (“AGP”) bus and host and memory buses, as a bridge between an additional registered peripheral component interconnect (“RegPCI”) bus and the host and memory buses, or as a bridge between a primary PCI bus and an additional RegPCI bus. The function of the multiple use chip set is determined at the time of manufacture of the computer system or in the field whether an AGP bus bridge or an additional registered PCI bus bridge is to be implemented. The multiple use core logic chip set has an arbiter having Request (“REQ”) and Grant (“GNT”) signal lines for each PCI device utilized on the additional registered PCI bus. Selection of the type of bus bridge (AGP or RegPCI) in the multiple use core logic chip set may be made by a hardware signal input, or by software during computer system configuration or power on self test (“POST”).

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.

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 link training logic. The first plurality of I/O ports is coupled to a plurality of operating system domains through a load-store fabric. Each of the first plurality of I/O ports is configured to route transactions between the plurality of operating system domains and the switching apparatus. The second I/O port is coupled to a first shared input/output endpoint. The first shared input/output endpoint is configured to request/complete the transactions for each of the plurality of operating system domains. The link training logic is coupled to the second I/O port. The link training logic initializes a link between the second I/O port and the first shared input/output endpoint to support the transactions corresponding to the each of the plurality of operating system domains.

Abstract: A transaction switch and integrated circuit incorporating said for switching data through a shared memory between a plurality of data interfaces that support different data protocols, namely packetized interfaces like InfiniBand and addressed data interfaces like PCI. The transaction switch also switches transactions commanding data transfers between the disparate protocol data interfaces and between those of the data interfaces having like protocols. For example, the transaction switch enables a hybrid InfiniBand channel adapter/switch to perform both InfiniBand packet to local bus protocol data transfers through the shared memory as well as InfiniBand packet switching between the multiple InfiniBand interfaces. The transactions are tailored for each interface type to include information needed by the particular interface type to perform a data transfer.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for sharing I/O devices. The apparatus has a first plurality of I/O ports, a second I/O port, and core logic. The first plurality is coupled to a plurality of operating system domains through a load-store fabric. Each of the first plurality routes transactions between the operating system domains and the switching apparatus. The second I/O port is coupled to a first shared input/output endpoint. The first shared input/output endpoint requests/completes 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 transactions between the first plurality of I/O ports and the second I/O port and associates each of the transactions with a corresponding one of the plurality of operating system domains (OSDs) by encapsulating an OS domain header within a transaction layer packet.

Abstract: An apparatus having 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 (OSDs) through a load-store fabric, each routing transactions between the plurality of OSDs and the switching apparatus. The second I/O port is coupled to a first shared input/output endpoint. The first shared input/output endpoint requests/completes the transactions for each of the plurality of OSDs. The core logic is coupled to the first plurality of I/O ports and the second I/O port. The core logic routes the transactions between the first plurality of I/O ports and the second I/O port. The core logic designates a corresponding one of the plurality of OSDs according to a variant of a protocol, where the protocol provides for routing of the transactions only for a single OSD.

Abstract: A method enabling I/O devices to be shared among multiple operating system domains, including first communicating with each of the operating system domains according to a protocol that provides exclusively for a single system domain ithin the load-store fabric; and second communicating with the shared I/O endpoint according to a variant of the protocol to enable the shared I/O endpoint to associate a prescribed operation with a corresponding one of the independent operating system domains. The second communicating includes encapsulating an OS domain header within a transaction layer packet that otherwise comports with the protocol, wherein the value of the OS domain header designates the corresponding one of the operating system domains; and via core logic within a swithching apparatus, mapping the independent operating system domains to the shared I/O endpoint.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are provided to offload TCP/IP-related processing, where a server is connected to a plurality of clients, and the plurality of clients is accessed via a TCP/IP network. TCP/IP connections between the plurality of clients and the server are accelerated. The apparatus includes an accelerated connection processor and a target channel adapter. The accelerated connection processor bridges TCP/IP transactions between the plurality of clients and the server, where the accelerated connection processor accelerates the TCP/IP connections by prescribing remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide transaction data from/to the server. The target channel adapter is coupled to the accelerated connection processor. The target channel adapter executes the remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide the transaction data. The TCP/IP transactions are accelerated by offloading TCP/IP processing otherwise performed by the server to retrieve/provide transaction data.

Abstract: A TCP-aware target adapter for accelerating TCP/IP connections between clients and servers, where the servers are interconnected over an Infiniband™ fabric and the clients are interconnected over a TCP/IP-based network. The TCP-aware target adapter includes an accelerated connection processor and a target channel adapter. The accelerated connection processor bridges TCP/IP transactions between the clients and the servers. The accelerated connection processor accelerates the TCP/IP connections prescribing Infiniband remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide transaction data from/to the servers. The target channel adapter is coupled to the accelerated connection processor. The target channel adapter supports Infiniband operations with the servers, including execution of the remote direct memory access operations to retrieve/provide the transaction data.

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.

Abstract: A multiple use core logic chip set is provided in a computer system that may be configured either as a bridge between an accelerated graphics port (“AGP”) bus and host and memory buses, as a bridge between an additional registered peripheral component interconnect (“RegPCI”) bus and the host and memory buses, or as a bridge between a primary PCI bus and an additional RegPCI bus. The function of the multiple use chip set is determined at the time of manufacture of the computer system or in the field whether an AGP bus bridge or an additional registered PCI bus bridge is to be implemented. The multiple use core logic chip set has an arbiter having Request (“REQ”) and Grant (“GNT”) signal lines for each PCI device utilized on the additional registered PCI bus. Selection of the type of bus bridge (AGP or RegPCI) in the multiple use core logic chip set may be made by a hardware signal input, or by software during computer system configuration or power on self test (“POST”).

Abstract: An apparatus and method is provided for allowing I/O devices to be shared and/or partitioned among a plurality of processing complexes within the load/store fabric of each of the processing complexes without requiring modification to the operating system or driver software of the processing complexes. The apparatus and method includes a switch for selectively coupling each of the processing complexes to one or more shared I/O devices. The apparatus and method further includes placing information within packets transmitted between the switch and the I/O devices to identify which of the processing complexes the packets are associated with. The invention further includes an apparatus and method within the shared I/O devices to allow the shared I/O devices to service each of the processing complexes independently.

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.