ALIGN/NOTIFY COMPRESSION SCHEME IN A NETWORK DIAGNOSTIC COMPONENT

Abstract

The embodiments disclosed herein relate to a network diagnostic component or device that is placed in-line between a first and second node. The diagnostic component or device is used to compress pre-specified Dwords of a network data stream. For example, the first node may communicate with the second node using a network data stream that includes a first component and a pre-specified component. In some embodiments, the network data stream may be of the SAS/SATA protocol. The network diagnostic component may receive the network data signal and associate the pre-specified component with an identifier that is represents the pre-specified component. The first component and the identifier representing the pre-specified component may then be recorded in a memory.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To further clarify the above and other advantages and features of the present invention, a more particular description of the invention will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The invention will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a network including a network diagnostic component placed in-line between two nodes;

FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed view of a particular embodiment of the network diagnostic component of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method for a network diagnostic component placed in-line between two nodes to compress primitive fill Dwords; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an additional method for a network diagnostic component placed in-line between two nodes to compress primitive fill Dwords.

Claims

1. A method for a network diagnostic component that is placed in-line between first and second nodes in a network to compress pre-specified data, the method comprising: an act of receiving a network data stream for communication between the first and second nodes, wherein the network data stream comprises at least one pre-specified data component;an act of associating the at least one pre-specified data component with an identifier that represents the at least one pre-specified data component; andan act of recording the identifier representing the at least one pre-specified data component in a memory.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the network data stream further comprises a first data component and wherein the first data component is a Data Dword that is also recorded in the memory.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the network data stream further comprises a first data component and wherein the first data component is an ALIGN or NOTIFY primitive Dword that is also recorded in the memory.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one pre-specified data component is an ALIGN or NOTIFY primitive Dword.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising: an act of displaying the contents of the memory on a display device.

6. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the network diagnostic component is a SAS/SATA network diagnostic component.

7. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the identifier comprises four bits that identify the pre-specified data component.

8. The method in accordance with claim 1, wherein the network data stream further comprises a first data component and wherein the first data component is preceded by a plurality of pre-specified data components, the method further comprising: an act of associating a second identifier with the plurality of pre-specified data components, wherein the second identifier uniquely represents the plurality of pre-specified data components; andan act of recording the first component and the second identifier in the memory.

9. A network diagnostic device placed in-line between first and second nodes in a network comprising: a first module configured to receive a network data stream for communication between the first and second nodes, wherein the network data stream comprises at least a first component and one pre-specified data component;a second module configured to associate the one pre-specified data component with an identifier that represents the pre-specified data component; anda third module configured to generate a record in a memory of the first component and the identifier representing the one pre-specified data component.

10. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the first and second nodes are SAS/SATA nodes and the network diagnostic component is a SAS/SATA network component.

11. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the network diagnostic device is one of a bit error rate tester, a protocol analyzer, a generator, a jammer, and a monitor.

12. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the first module is a state machine.

13. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the second and third modules are the same module.

14. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the second and third modules are a trace formatting/compression engine.

15. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the memory is a capture buffer.

16. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the one pre-specified data component is an ALIGN or NOTIFY primitive Dword.

17. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the first component is one of a Data Dword or a primitive Dword.

18. The network diagnostic device in accordance with claim 9, wherein the network diagnostic device is further configured to associate a second identifier with a plurality of pre-specified data components and to record the second identifier and the first component in the memory.

19. A method for a network diagnostic component that is placed in-line between first and second nodes in a network to compress pre-specified Dwords, the method comprising: an act of receiving a network data stream for communication between the first and second nodes, wherein the network data stream comprises at least a data component and one or more pre-specified components;an act of determining the number of pre-specified components;an act of associating the determined number of pre-specified components with an identifier; andan act of recording in a memory the data component and the identifier.

20. The method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the one or more pre-specified components are ALIGN or NOTIFY primitive Dwords.

21. The method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the first and second nodes are SAS/SATA nodes and the network diagnostic component is a SAS/SATA network component.

22. The method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the act of determining the number of pre-specified components comprises: an act of counting the number of pre-specified components with a counter.

23. The method in accordance with claim 19, wherein the identifier comprises one or more bits that represent the number of pre-specified components.