CONFIGURABLE MULTI-PORT MULTI-PROTOCOL NETWORK INTERFACE TO SUPPORT PACKET PROCESSING

摘要

A network interface between an internal bus and an external bus architecture having one or more external buses includes an external interface engine and an internal interface. The external interface engine (EIE) is coupled to the external bus architecture, where the external interface engine communicates over the external bus architecture in accordance with one or more bus protocols. The internal interface is coupled to the external interface engine and the internal bus, where the internal interface buffers network data between the internal bus and the external bus architecture. In one embodiment, the internal interface includes an internal interface (IIE) coupled to the internal bus, where the IIE defines a plurality of queues for the network data. An intermediate memory module is coupled to the IIE and EIE, where the intermediate memory module aggregates the network data in accordance with the plurality of queues.