Streaming and bulk data transfer transformation with context switching

摘要

In described embodiments, processing of a data stream, such as a packet stream or flow, associated with data streaming is improved by context switching that employs context history. For each data stream that is transformed through processing, a context is maintained that comprises state information and includes a history and state information that enables the transformation for the data stream. Processing for the data transformation examines currently arriving data and then processes the data based on the context data and previously known context information for the data stream from the history stored in memory.

主权项

1. A method of context switching, the method comprising the steps of:
applying, by a processor, a data transformation to at least one portion of a received data stream, the data transformation comprising at least one of cryptography, multi-media processing, network protocol conversion, and a compression/expansion conversion; generating, by the processor, i) corresponding current context data based on the data transformation of the at least one portion; and ii) a signal when the data transformation completes; storing, in memory, each context data for a corresponding data stream as aggregated context data, the aggregated context data including current context data for the at least one portion of the received data stream and previous context data, if present, the context data comprising transformation data and history information for each data transformation applied to one or more portions of the corresponding data stream; and coordinating transfer, by a context control sub-processor based on the signal, the aggregated context data of the received data stream between the processor and the context memory; wherein the transformation data and the history information for the compression/expansion conversion comprise at least one of (i) de-compression history including values and organization for all internal storage elements, and a complete state of the data transformation, thereby recovering previous states prior to storage and (ii) compression history having a sub-set of de-compression history, a portion of the previous packet, state machine registers and stream statistical information, wherein, upon recovery, the sub-set of de-compression history is retrieved, and remaining logic of the processing core is set to a default state.