NETWORK DEVICE, BUFFER CONTROL DEVICE, AND BUFFER CONTROL METHOD

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a buffer control device capable of achieving low power consumption in buffer control without impairing other characteristics.SOLUTION: A buffer control device buffers an input packet with an internal buffer and an external buffer having a power-saving mode. There are two buffering modes. In a mode in which only the internal buffer is used, a packet from a FIFO memory at an input stage is directly input to the internal buffer; and in this case, an external buffer is set to a power-saving mode. In a mode in which the internal buffer and external buffer are simultaneously used, the packet from the FIFO memory is input to the external buffer in which the power-saving mode is cancelled, and the packet read from the external buffer, input to the internal buffer. The amount of storage in the internal buffer, external buffer, and FIFO memory is monitored and transition between the two modes is caused as required.