Bus Driver for Multi-Port Ethernet Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing NDIS driver is not compatible with multiple physical Ethernet ports, as it is designed to control a single port for a PCIe function, limiting the expression of multiple Ethernet ports and requiring additional configurations to support new communications or commands.
Innovation Solution
The use of a bus driver that provides access to multiple physical Ethernet ports as physical device objects, abstracting device initialization, resource allocation, and management, and utilizing IDPF drivers to communicate with the OS through virtual channel messages, enabling compatibility with multiple Ethernet ports and new capabilities such as virtual functions and networking services.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single NDIS driver is used for a PCIe function, then the driver structure remains simple and compatible with existing interfaces, but it cannot support multiple physical Ethernet ports
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the driver into a bus driver layer and multiple NDIS driver instances. Each NDIS driver handles a specific Ethernet port independently, while the bus driver provides unified management. This segmentation allows multiple ports to be supported without requiring a complete redesign of the NDIS interface layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The bus driver acts as an intermediary between the PCIe device and the NDIS drivers. It provides a unified interface to the OS while managing multiple NDIS driver instances, thereby maintaining NDIS compatibility while enabling multi-port support without increasing NDIS complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If NDIS driver is updated to support new communications or commands, then new capabilities are enabled, but existing compatibility with single-port design is broken
Solution Approach 1:
The bus driver provides a universal interface that works with both single-port and multi-port configurations. It maintains compatibility with existing NDIS single-port expectations while simultaneously enabling multi-port and future capability support through its abstracted management layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver architecture is made dynamic by allowing the bus driver to manage varying numbers of NDIS driver instances. The system can adapt from single-port to multi-port operation without changing the fundamental NDIS interface, enabling future-proof compatibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple NDIS drivers are used for multiple Ethernet ports, then port expressibility is improved, but driver configuration and management becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the management of multiple NDIS drivers into a single bus driver. The bus driver handles resource allocation, initialization, and coordination of multiple NDIS instances, thereby reducing the overall configuration and management burden despite supporting multiple ports.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples described herein relate to utilizing a bus driver to present a peripheral device comprising a single physical function to a host operating system (OS) as a plurality of peripheral devices, associating the plurality of presented peripheral devices with a corresponding plurality of physical Ethernet ports; and enabling the host OS to interact with the plurality of peripheral devices. In some examples, the number of the plurality of peripheral devices correlates to the number of physical Ethernet ports associated with the peripheral device.