A peripheral such as a printer is controlled to receive data from
different data ports. A first port receives data formatted according to a
first protocol. A second port receives data formatted according to a
second protocol. A first processor is associated with the peripheral. A
second processor is associated with the second port. A switch is adapted
to receive (i) first data from the first port and (ii) second data from
the second port after processing by the second processor. The switch is
controlled in response to a command received via the second port to
couple either the first data or second data to the first processor for
use in controlling the peripheral. New firmware can be downloaded to the
peripheral via the second port in response to the command. The command
can be communicated to the first processor via a separate port at the
first processor and a memory shared with the second processor.