Scheme for dynamically connecting I/O devices through network
A scheme for dynamically connecting I/O devices through a network is disclosed. It enables separating I/O devices from a host system unit and connecting them to the host system unit through a network. In one preferred embodiment, provided in the host side is a converter that encapsulates an I/O command into one or more data link frames so that the frames containing the I/O command are sent through the network. Also provided in the device side is a counter-converter that retrieves the I/O command from the data link frames received through LAN. The network may be either a wired or wireless network.
1. A system for dynamically connecting I/O devices through a network, comprising:
a bus-to-LAN converter at a host side for sending I/O commands from a host computer to I/O devices through a network, comprising:
a network interface card (NIC) for encapsulating an I/O command into one or more network packets, wherein I/O commands are same as commands to control I/O devices attached to the host computer;
a transmitter for sending the network packets through the network to a target I/O device; and
a first connection establishment and canceling module for dynamically connecting at least one I/O device to the host computer and dynamically separating the I/O devices from the host computer, and
a LAN-to-Controller converter at an I/O device side for receiving I/O commands from the host computer through the network, comprising:
a receiver for receiving network packets containing an I/O command from the network;
a counter-controller for retrieving I/O commands from the network packets containing the I/O commands; and
a second connection establishment and canceling module for dynamically connecting at least one I/O device to the host computer and dynamically separating the I/O devices from the host computer.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network is Ethernet.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the network is wireless.