초록 ▼

A system and method of altering frames being processed by a network processing unit. The system includes a set of defined alterations, with some of the alterations being fixed alterations which are advantageously handled by hardware to accomplish the fixed alterations rapidly and without executing a

A system and method of altering frames being processed by a network processing unit. The system includes a set of defined alterations, with some of the alterations being fixed alterations which are advantageously handled by hardware to accomplish the fixed alterations rapidly and without executing a stored program and other alterations which include a variable portion, with these variable alterations being accomplished through the use of stored programs allowing the variables to be used to effect variable alterations to a frame. The present system accommodates a change in the duration of life of a frame or information unit and addition or deletion of bits and also allows for a new cyclic redundancy checking to be accomplished for a revised information unit. Advantageously, the frame alteration system is on the same substrate as the processors.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A system for altering an information unit in a network processing system, the system comprising: a substrate including a plurality of processors carried thereon, said processors for receiving input information units from the network and preparing processed information u

The invention claimed is: 1. A system for altering an information unit in a network processing system, the system comprising: a substrate including a plurality of processors carried thereon, said processors for receiving input information units from the network and preparing processed information units for transmission to the network; a dispatcher carried on the substrate and coupled to the plurality of processors for receiving input information units from the network, determining availability of at least one of the plurality of processors to process information units and transmitting at least one of the information units for processing to the at least one of the plurality of processors; a completion unit carried on the substrate and coupled to the plurality of processors, said completion unit receiving a processed information from the plurality of processors and for communicating the processed information units to the network in the same order in which said units were received; and a subassembly carried on the substrate for making selective alterations to the information units, said subassembly coupled to the completion unit and the network for modifying the information units and including: a control word associated with each frame to be altered containing an indicator for each of the desired alterations; hardware devices to identify some alterations as fixed to the frame of data and to alter said some alterations in accordance with a fixed alteration resulting from the hardware devices; and software programming including stored algorithms to identify other alterations as variable alterations and to alter such other alterations on the information unit. 2. A system for altering information units including the elements set forth in claim 1 wherein the system for modifying the information unit includes a system for identifying bits to be added or deleted from an information unit and includes a stored programming to accomplish the alteration to the information unit. 3. A system for altering information units of the type described in claim 1 wherein the system further includes a device for changing a counter in the information unit. 4. A system for altering information units of the type described in claim 1 wherein the system further includes a system for determining a revised integrity token for a revised information unit and the system for making alterations includes a module for replacing an integrity token associated with the information unit with the revised integrity token associated with the revised information unit. 5. A system of the type described in claim 1 wherein the system further includes a system for altering a portion of the information unit which is based on a feature of the information unit. 6. A system for altering frames of the type described in claim 1 and further including an instruction associated with the input information unit for defining variable frame alterations. 7. A method of altering a frame of data comprising: providing a list of permitted frame alterations some of said frame alterations being fixed and others being variable; identifying some of the listed frame alterations as fixed alterations and implementing the some alternations in hardware designed to accomplish those frame alterations; identifying others of the listed frame alterations as variable alterations and implementing the variable alterations in stored program instructions to accomplish those other frame alterations; for each frame, receiving a list of the alterations appropriate for that frame; accomplishing the listed alterations which are identified as fixed alterations in hardware and the frame alterations which are identified as variable alterations by executing the stored program instructions. 8. A method of altering an information unit according to claim 7 and further including calculating a revised check value for an altered information unit and transmitting the revised check value with the altered information unit. 9. A system for altering a frame of information as the frame of information is being passed from one element to another element in a processing system, the frame altering system comprising: logic for interpreting an instruction defining a frame alteration for determining whether the frame alteration is a fixed alteration or a variable alteration; hardware associated with the logic for performing a fixed alteration on the frame of information if a fixed alteration is determined; a processor associated with the logic for receiving the frame and for receiving stored instructions relating to the variable alteration if a variable alteration is determined, whereby the processor uses the stored instructions to perform the variable alteration on the frame if the frame alteration is a variable alteration; and an output for passing the altered frame to the next element. 10. A system for altering an information unit comprising: a plurality of processors, formed on a substrate, for receiving information units and preparing processed information units; a dispatcher, formed on said substrate and coupled to the plurality of processors, to receive input information units, to determine availability of at least one of the plurality of processors to process information units and to transmit at least one of said input information units for processing to a selected one of said processors; a completion unit, formed on the substrate, coupled to the plurality of processors, to receive and to transmit processed information units in the same order in which said information units were received; and a system, formed on the substrate, to make alterations to the information units operatively coupled to said completion unit, wherein said system includes hardware devices that perform fixed alterations on selected portions of information units and software that performs variable alterations on selected portions of said information units. 11. A method of altering a frame of data comprising: providing a list of permitted frame alterations, some of said frame alterations being fixed and others being variable; receiving the frame of data; identifying portion of said frame as fixed alterations; identifying portion of said frame as variable alterations; using hardware to alter the portion of the frame identified as fixed alterations; and using software to alter the portion of the frame identified as variable alterations.