An integrated circuit, a computer system, and a method of operating the computer system. The integrated circuit includes an internal bus, a microcontroller connected to the internal bus, an Ethernet controller coupled to the internal bus, and a plurality of buffers coupled between the microcontroller and the Ethernet controller for buffering data between the microcontroller and the Ethernet controller. The microcontroller is configured to master the internal bus. The Ethernet controller and the microcontroller are configured to exchange data over the internal bus.