Granted Patent B1

US 7,085,877 · App. 10/108,063 · Granted Aug 1, 2006

Abstract

Claims (29)

1. An adapter card configured to be in communication with a general purpose computer, the general purpose computer having an operating system, the adapter card comprising:

a first controller providing a first interface technology, the first controller in communication with a first programmable read only memory having a first program stored therein, the first program being in-circuit modifiable;

a second controller providing a second interface technology, the second controller in communication with a second programmable read only memory having a second program stored therein, the second program being in-circuit modifiable; and

a single bridge controller, the bridge controller being in communication with the first and second controllers over a secondary bus, the bridge controller in communication with a third programmable read only memory having a third program stored therein, the third program being in-circuit modifiable, the bridge controller in communication with the general purpose computer over a primary bus, wherein the first second and third programs are configured to interact with the operating system such that requests sent by the operating system are translated for the first, second and bridge controllers and responses from the first, second, and bridge controllers are translated for the operating system.

2. The adapter card as recited in claim 1 , wherein the first controller is in communication with one of at least one internal port and at least one external port.

3. The adapter card as recited in claim 1 , wherein the second controller is in communication with one of at least one internal port and at least one external port.

4. The adapter card as recited in claim 1 , wherein the third programmable read only memory enables translation of power management states between the first and second controllers and an operating system of the general purpose computer.

5. The adapter card as recited in claim 1 , wherein the third programmable read only memory enables the bridge controller to synchronize with a host controller of the general purpose computer.

6. A host bus adapter card configured to be placed into a peripheral component interface (PCI) slot of a general purpose computer, the adapter card comprising:

a universal serial bus (USB) controller, the USB controller in communication with a first electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM);

a 1394 controller, the 1394 controller in communication with a second EEPROM; and

a PCI to PCI bridge, the bridge being in communication with the USB controller, the 1394 controller and a third EEPROM, wherein the first, second and third EEPROMs are configured to be accessed by a utility, the utility enabling in-circuit modification of the USB controller, the 1394 controller and the PCI to PCI bridge, the PCI to PCI bridge including a power manager configured to correlate a software power state from an operating system of the general purpose computer to a hardware power state associated with one of the USB controller or 1394 controller, wherein the bridge is a sole bridge for communication between a host controller over a primary bus and each controller over a secondary bus.

7. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 6 , wherein the USB controller is in communication with one of at least one external port and at least one internal port.

8. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 6 , wherein the 1394 controller is in communication with one of at least one external port and at least one internal port.

9. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 6 , wherein the USB controller is hard addressed to a lowest PCI address line.

10. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 6 , wherein the 1394 controller is hard addressed to a lowest PCI address line.

11. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 6 , wherein a graphical user interface (GUI) is presented on the general purpose computer, the GUI configured to allow the user to modify a configuration of the USB controller, the 1394 controller and the bridge.

12. The host bus adapter as recited in claim 11 , wherein the configuration of the USB controller, the 1394 controller and the bridge is modified to improve one of performance and compatibility.

13. A method for synchronizing multiple interface technologies on a host bus adapter, the host bus adapter configured to operate at a plurality of power states, the multiple interface technologies in communication with a bridge on the host bus adapter, the bridge on the host bus adapter in communication with a general purpose computer over a primary bus and the multiple interface technologies over a secondary bus, the method comprising:

issuing a power management request to the host bus adapter from an operating system of the general purpose computer;

translating the power management request for each of the multiple interface technologies and the bridge;

executing the power management request;

issuing a response that the power management request has been executed; and

translating the response for the operating system.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 , wherein the power management request is issued by the operating system according to a software convention and the response to the power management request is issued according to a hardware convention.

15. The method as recited in claim 13 , wherein the translating is enabled by electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) units, wherein one of the EEPROM units is associated with a hardware component of the host bus adapter.

16. The method as recited in claim 13 , wherein the multiple interface technologies include a universal serial bus (USB) interface and a 1394 interface.

17. The method of claim 13 , wherein the method operation of translating the power management request for each of the multiple interface technologies and the bridge includes,

correlating a software power state from the operating system to a hardware power state associated with a respective controller of one of the multiple interface technologies.

Assignments (17)