US 8589587

Analysis of U.S. Patent 8,589,587

Washington, D.C. - An analysis of United States Patent 8,589,587, titled "Protocol offload in intelligent network adaptor, including application level signalling," reveals a method for improving the efficiency of data transfer in high-speed networks. The patent is assigned to Chelsio Communications Inc.

Key Patent Details:

• Title: Protocol offload in intelligent network adaptor, including application level signalling
• Assignee: Chelsio Communications Inc.
• Inventors: Dimitrios Michailidis, Wael Noureddine, Felix A. Marti, Asgeir Thor Eiriksson
• Filing Date: May 11, 2007
• Issue Date: November 19, 2013
• Abstract: The patent describes a system where a host computer is connected to a network through an intelligent network adaptor. This adaptor is designed to handle the protocol processing for a stateful, connection-oriented communication with a peer device. The core of the invention involves the adaptor selectively providing data receive notifications to the host based on application-level notifications found within the transport protocol signaling of the received data packets. This method aims to reduce the processing load on the host and decrease latency.

A search of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dockets for 2026 did not yield any specific results for patent number 8,589,587. This indicates that, based on the available information, there is no active litigation involving this patent at the CAFC for the specified year. However, this does not preclude litigation at other levels or in other jurisdictions.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims

U.S. Patent 8,589,587 contains three independent claims which form the core of the patented invention. A plain-language summary of each is provided below.

Independent Claim 1: This claim describes a method for managing data communication. Essentially, an intelligent network adapter, which connects a host computer to a network, takes on the task of processing the communication protocol for incoming data. The adapter then copies the application data from these packets into the host's memory. Crucially, the adapter doesn't notify the host about every single piece of data it receives. Instead, it "moderates" the rate of these notifications. It decides when to alert the host that data is ready by looking for specific "useful application level notifications" within the transport layer of the data packets. These notifications, such as an "urgent indicator" or a "push indicator," signal that the data is important for the application and should be processed promptly, all without terminating the connection.

Independent Claim 6: This claim outlines the intelligent network adaptor itself. The adaptor is designed to handle the communication protocol for a connection-oriented session between a host and another device on the network. It is configured to copy received application data to the host's memory and to control the frequency of notifications sent to the host. Similar to the first claim, the adaptor's decision to notify the host is based on detecting specific application-level signals (like urgent or push indicators) within the transport protocol's header information in the incoming data packets. This process of sending notifications occurs while the connection remains active.

Independent Claim 12: This claim describes the entire system, which includes both the host computer and the intelligent network adaptor. The host runs an application that receives data, and the adaptor manages the data transfer. The adaptor processes the communication protocol, copies the data to the host's memory, and then moderates the rate at which it informs the host that the data is ready for the application to use. The decision to send a notification is triggered by the adaptor identifying specific transport layer signals that indicate application-level events, such as the need for the data to be urgently processed by the application. This notification happens without disrupting the ongoing connection. The host processor, upon receiving the notification, then makes the application aware that the data is available in its designated memory buffers.