Dynamic arbitration for system bus control in multiprocessor data processing system
US5301283A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 16, 1992 |
| Grant date | Apr 5, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 16, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/368
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a data processing system having a plurality of commander nodes and at least one resource node interconnected by a system bus, a bus arbitration technique determines which commander node is to gain control of the system bus to access the resource node. The bus arbitration technique assigns priority levels to all commander nodes, with at least one commander node receiving more than one priority level. Each priority level has an associated signal path. During each arbitration, each contending commander node can activate or assert the signal path associated with its priority level, and the commander node having more than one priority level can assert the signal path associated with any one of its priority levels. All commander nodes monitor all the signal paths to determine the identity of the contending commander node that asserted the signal path associated with the highest priority level among those that were asserted, and, thus, the contending commander node that "won" the arbitration.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.