Methods and systems for an out-of-credit timer in a network device

1. A machine-implemented method for reporting an out-of-credit condition for a network device connected to a network, comprising:

providing, by a base-port, an indication to an out-of-credit logic that a first sub-port operating using a first protocol is out of credit to transmit information from a transmit segment; wherein the first sub-port is a part of the base-port that includes a plurality of sub-ports and each sub-port is configured to operate at more than one operating speed to process packets complying with different protocols, and wherein each of the plurality of sub-ports is connected to a dedicated network link and operates using a dedicated hardware component and a shared hardware component of the network device;

determining, by the out-of-credit logic, when the first sub-port is out of credit for a threshold period of time; and

reporting, by the out-of-credit logic, that the first sub-port is out of credit to a processor of the network device when there is no credit available to the first sub-port for at least the threshold period of time; wherein the same out-of-credit logic is used to monitor out-of-credit conditions when a second sub-port is configured to operate using a second protocol,

wherein the first protocol is Fibre Channel and the second protocol is Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet and any of the plurality of sub-ports is configurable to operate as either a Fibre Channel port, Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet port and wherein the out-of-credit logic monitors whether a pause state is active for a second threshold period of time when the second sub-port is being monitored.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the out-of-credit logic includes a counter that is incremented upon receiving the out-of-credit indication.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the counter is reset upon determination of credit at the first sub-port.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein after the counter is incremented, a value of the counter is compared to a threshold value to determine if the first sub-port has been out of credit for the threshold period of time.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the network device is a switch element having a plurality of base-ports.

6. A network device element coupled to a network via a network link, comprising:

a processor for executing firmware code for managing network device operations;

a plurality of base-ports, where each base-port is coupled to a plurality of network links and each base-port has a plurality of sub-ports, wherein each sub-port is configured to operate independently for sending and receiving information using one of the plurality of network links at a plurality of rates complying with a plurality of protocols, wherein each of the plurality of sub-ports operates using a dedicated hardware component and a shared hardware component of the network device; and

an out-of-credit logic that is provided an indication that a first sub-port operating using a first protocol is out of credit to transmit information from a transmit segment; and the out-of-credit logic determines when the first sub-port is out of credit for at least a threshold period of time and then reports to the processor that the first sub-port is out of credit; wherein the same out-of-credit logic is used to monitor out-of-credit conditions when the first sub-port or a second sub-port is configured to operate using a second protocol,

wherein the first protocol is Fibre Channel and the second protocol is Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet and any of the plurality of sub-ports is configurable to operate as either a Fibre Channel port, Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet port and wherein the out-of-credit logic monitors whether a pause state is active for a second threshold period of time when the second sub-port is being monitored.

7. The network device of claim 6 , wherein the out-of-credit logic includes a counter that is incremented upon receiving the indication that the first sub-port is out-of-credit.

8. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the counter is reset upon determination of credit at the first sub-port.

9. The network device of claim 7 , wherein the out-of-credit logic includes a compare module to compare a value of the counter with a threshold value to determine if the first sub-port has been out of credit for the threshold period of time.

10. The network device of claim 6 , wherein the network device is a switch element having a plurality of base-ports.

11. A system comprising:

a computing system; and

a network device coupled to the computing system, the network device including:

a processor for executing firmware code for managing network device operations;

a plurality of base-ports, where each base-port is coupled to a plurality of network links and each base-port has a plurality of sub-ports, wherein each sub-port is configured to operate independently for sending and receiving information using one of the plurality of network links at a plurality of rates complying with a plurality of protocols, wherein each of the plurality of sub-ports operates using a dedicated hardware component and a shared hardware component of the network device; and

an out-of-credit logic that is provided an indication that a first sub-port operating using a first protocol is out of credit to transmit information from a transmit segment; and the out-of-credit logic determines when the first sub-port is out of credit for at least a threshold period of time and then reports to the processor that the first sub-port is out of credit; wherein the same out-of-credit logic is used to monitor out-of-credit conditions when a second sub-port is configured to operate using a second protocol, wherein the first protocol is Fibre Channel and the second protocol is Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet and any of the plurality of sub-ports is configurable to operate as either a Fibre Channel port, Ethernet or Fibre Channel over Ethernet port and wherein the out-of-credit logic monitors whether a pause state is active for at least a second threshold period of time when the second sub-port is being monitored.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the out-of-credit logic includes a counter that is incremented upon receiving the indication that the first sub-port is out-of-credit.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the counter is reset upon determination of credit at the first sub-port.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the out-of-credit logic includes a compare module to compare a value of the counter with a threshold value to determine if the first sub-port has been out of credit for the threshold period of time.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the network device is a switch element having a plurality of base-ports.