Transfer of control data between network components

Abstract

A method and apparatus for transfer of power state data between network components. An embodiment of a method includes determining a command for a computer system, the computer system including a first network component and a second network component. The first network component and the second network component are linked by an interface. The method further includes inserting a message regarding the power state change in a data frame and transferring the data frame from the first network component to the second component via the interface, the data frame being transferred in a period between data packets.

1 . A method comprising: 
 determining a command for a computer system, the computer system including a first network component and a second network component, the first network component and the second network component being linked by an interface;    inserting a control message regarding the command in a data frame; and    transferring the data frame from the first network component to the second component via the interface, the data frame being transferred in a period between data packets.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second network components are Ethernet components.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the first network component is a MAC (media access control) Ethernet component.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the second network component is a PHY (physical) Ethernet component.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control message is sent in a gap between data packets.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the control message includes a power state change.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising changing the power state of the second network device based at least in part on the message regarding the power state change.  
   
   
       8 . A network apparatus comprising: 
 a first component; and    a second component, the second component to be coupled with the first component via an interface, the second component to transfer a plurality of data packets to the first component, the first component to transfer a data frame in a gap between a first data packet and a second data packet, the data frame including a control message for the first component;    wherein the first component changes from a first state to a second state in response to the data frame.    
   
   
       9 . The network apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the first component is an Ethernet PHY (physical) component.  
   
   
       10 . The network apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the second component is an Ethernet MAC (media access) component.  
   
   
       11 . The network apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the control message is a power control message.  
   
   
       12 . The network apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the first component changes from a first power state to a second power state in response to the power control message.  
   
   
       13 . The network apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the interface does not include a power control line.  
   
   
       14 . The network apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the first component is coupled with a first port and wherein the data packets are to be transferred to the first port.  
   
   
       15 . The network apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the first component is coupled with a second port, wherein the first component has a first power state for the first port and a second power state for the second port.  
   
   
       16 . A system comprising: 
 a bus;    a processor coupled to the bus;    a dynamic memory coupled to the bus to hold data for transmission;    a communication device coupled to the bus to transmit and receive data, the communication device including: 
 a physical network device;  
 and a media access network device, the media access device to transfer a plurality of data packets from the processor to the physical network device, the media access device to transmit a control signal to the physical network device in a period between a first data packet and a second data packet.  
   
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the control signal includes a power control signal.  
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein the physical network device changes from a first power state to a second power state in response to the power control signal.  
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the physical network device consumes less power in the second power state than in the first power state.  
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the physical network device is coupled with a plurality of ports.  
   
   
       21 . The system of  claim 20 , wherein the power control signal includes a plurality of power control states, the power control states including a first control power state for a first port and a second power control state for a second port.  
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the communication device is an Ethernet device.  
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the control signal is transmitted in an interpacket gap between Ethernet data packets.  
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the control signal is a part of a control data frame.  
   
   
       25 . A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing sequences of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising: 
 sending a first data packet from a first network component to a second network component;    sending a data frame from the first network component to the second network component after the end of the first data frame, the data frame including a control field;    sending a second data packet from the first network component to the second network component, the second data packet being sent after the end of the data frame, the data frame being sent in a time period between the first data packet end the second data packet; and    changing a state of the second network device based at least in part on the control field.    
   
   
       26 . The medium of  claim 25 , wherein the data frame is an in-band frame sent in an inter-packet gap between the first data packet and the second data packet.  
   
   
       27 . The medium of  claim 25 , wherein the control field encodes the current power state for the second network device.  
   
   
       28 . The medium of  claim 25 , wherein the first network component and the second network components are components of an Ethernet communication device.