Method and apparatus for supporting network communications

Abstract

One embodiment of the invention includes a method of managing network communications in a network device. The network device includes software components and modules. Some of the components control the interaction between modules, while other components perform specific functions for associated modules. A module manager component controls the creation and destruction of modules as well as their interactions. A communications manager component manages network communications in the network device. The network communications is supported by creating a number of modules that are associated with components that implement different parts of a network protocol. As a result of the use of the modules, a component need not know which other component(s) it depends upon, nor need it know which other component(s) depend upon it. This allows components to be used together very easily in many different configurations. The modules also allow the same component to be used by multiple modules.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A network device comprising:
 a high speed serial device (HSS) module;   an HSS owner component in communication with the HSS module;   an HSS leased line module in communication with the HSS module;   an HSS leased line owner component in communication with the HSS leased line module;   a point-to-point protocol (PPP) channel module in communication with the HSS leased line module;   a PPP channel component in communication with the PPP channel module;   a data link module in communication with the PPP channel module; and   a PPP component in communication with the data link module.   
     
     
         26 . The network device according to  claim 25 , wherein the HSS component includes a device driver for an HSS device. 
     
     
         27 . The network device according to  claim 25 , wherein the HSS leased line component provides control functions and data functions to support an HSS leased line connection. 
     
     
         28 . The network device according to  claim 25 , wherein at bootup, an HSS device is to initialize and notify the HSS component and the HSS component is to announce an availability of the HSS component to the HSS module via an event. 
     
     
         29 . The network device according to  claim 25 , wherein the HSS module is to communicate a module available event to the HSS leased line module. 
     
     
         30 . The network device according to  claim 29 , wherein the HSS leased line module is to notified the HSS leased line component of the module available event by calling a registered status function in the HSS leased line module. 
     
     
         31 . The network device according to  claim 25 , wherein the HSS module is to notify the HSS component to enable via an initialize event, wherein the HSS component is to initialize, enable, and report a module up event to the HSS module in response to the receipt of the initialize event, and wherein the HSS module is to propagate a module up event to the HSS leased line module. 
     
     
         32 . The network device according to  claim 31 , wherein the HSS leased line module is to notify the HSS leased line component using a downstream module up event in response to receipt of the module up event, wherein the downstream module up event triggers the HSS leased line component  460  to bring up an appropriate communications interface. 
     
     
         33 . The network device according to  claim 32 , wherein the HSS leased line component is to notify the HSS leased line module via a module up event, the HSS leased line module is to report a downstream up event to the PPP channel module, and the HSS leased line module is to report an upstream up event to the HSS module. 
     
     
         34 . The network device according to  claim 33 , wherein the PPP channel is to generate a second downstream up event based upon the downstream up event. 
     
     
         35 . The network device according to  claim 34 , wherein the PPP channel component is to report a module up event to the PPP channel module when the PPP channel component successfully completes, wherein the PPP channel module is to communicate the module up event to the data link module and the HSS leased line module. 
     
     
         36 . The network device according to  claim 35 , wherein the data link module is to send a second module up event to the PPP component in response to receive of the module up event from the PPP channel module. 
     
     
         37 . The network device according to  claim 36 , wherein the PPP component is to respond to the second module up event. 
     
     
         38 . A method for communicating between a layers in a module stack, wherein the module stack includes an a high speed serial device (HSS) module in communication with an HSS owner component and an HSS leased line module, wherein the HSS leased line module is in communication with an HSS leased line owner component and a point-to-point protocol (PPP) channel module, wherein the PPP channel module in communication with the PPP channel component and a data link module, wherein the data link module is in communication with a PPP component, the method comprising:
 in the HSS component,
 finding an upstream module link to the HSS leased line module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the HSS leased line component from the upstream module link; 
 communicating a packet to the HSS leased line component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the HSS leased line component; 
   in the HSS leased line component,
 processing the packet from the HSS component; 
 finding a PPP upstream module link to the PPP channel module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the PPP channel component from the PPP upstream module link; 
 communicating a packet to the PPP channel component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the PPP channel component; 
   in the PPP channel component,
 processing the packet from the HSS leased line component; 
 finding a data link upstream module link to the data link module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the PPP component from the data link upstream module link; and 
 communicating a packet to the PPP component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the PPP component. 
   
     
     
         39 . A method for communicating between a layers in a module stack, wherein the module stack includes an a high speed serial device (HSS) module in communication with an HSS owner component and an HSS leased line module, wherein the HSS leased line module is in communication with an HSS leased line owner component and a point-to-point protocol (PPP) channel module, wherein the PPP channel module in communication with the PPP channel component and a data link module, wherein the data link module is in communication with a PPP component, the method comprising:
 in the PPP channel component,
 finding a PPP downstream module link to the PPP channel module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the PPP channel component from the data link downstream module link; and 
 communicating a packet to the PPP channel component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the PPP channel component. 
   in the PPP channel component,
 processing the packet from the PPP component; 
 finding a HSS leased line downstream link to the HSS leased line module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the HSS leased line component from the HSS leased line downstream module link; and 
 communicating a packet to the HSS leased line component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the HSS leased line component; 
   in the HSS leased line component,
 processing the packet from the PPP channel component; 
 finding a HSS downstream module link to the HSS module; 
 accessing a receive function pointer of the HSS component from the HSS downstream module link; and 
 communicating a packet to the HSS component by directly calling the receive function pointer of the HSS component.