Power management circuit for selectively applying power to network monitoring circuitry which monitors the receipt of network wake-up messages

摘要

A power management circuit for use in a peripheral module such as a network interface card is presented. The circuit facilitates low power network monitoring for 'Wake On LAN' or 'Plug In and Go' applications as well as for network-initiated configuration and operation of a peripheral or network interface card's host computer. The circuit detects initial application of operational power and initiates assertion of sufficient power for evaluating the earlier programmed configuration parameters. Upon completion of the evaluation of the configuration parameters, the circuit sustains standby power to the portion of the network interface card that is monitoring the network traffic for a wake-up command when the configuration parameters so dictate.