DMA controller with response message and receive frame action tables

Year	Description
1996	Invention patented by Tim Earnest and Chris Sonnek on December 10th, 1996. Abstract: A direct memory access (DMA) controller transmits and receives formatted data frames having frame headers in a communications subsystem. The DMA controller includes a transmit input and output, a receive input and output, transmit circuitry, receive circuitry, a receive frame header capture circuit, a receive frame action table and a response message table. The transmit circuitry receives transmit data frames on the transmit input and applies the transmit data frames to the transmit output. The receive circuitry receives receive data frames on the receive input and applies the receive data frames to the receive output. The receive frame header capture circuit obtains a frame header from the received data frames and applies the frame header to the receive frame action table. The receive frame action table generates a frame action command based on the frame header field. The response message table has an address input coupled to receive the frame action command, a response frame output coupled to the transmit circuitry and a plurality of addressable memory locations for storing predetermined response data frames.
Source: selected by the editor from original sources.

Invention: DMA controller with response message and receive frame action tables