Adaptive Interrupt Frequency
Dual DMA Channels
32-bit or 54-bit PCI Bus Master
ASIC with Embedded RISC Processor
The adapter driver intelligently adjusts host interrupt frequency based on traffic conditions, to increase overall application throughput. When traffic is light, the adapter driver interrupts the host for each received packet, minimizing latency. When traffic is heavy, the adapter issues one host interrupt for multiple, back-to-back incoming packets, preserving host CPU cycles.
The PCI interface on the Gigabit Ethernet Controller contains two independent DMA channels for simultaneous read and write operations.
Compliant with PCI Local Bus Rev 2.2, the PCI interface on the Gigabit Ethernet Controller is compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit PCI buses. As a bus master, the adapter requests access to the PCI bus, instead of waiting to be polled.
The core control for the Gigabit Ethernet Controller resides in a tightly integrated, high-performance ASIC. The ASIC includes dual RISC processors. This provides the flexibility to add new features to the card and adapt it to future network requirements via software download. This also enables the adapter drivers to exploit the built-in host offload functions on the adapter as host operating systems are enhanced to take advantage of these functions.