Protocol for interrupt bus arbitration in a multi-processor system
US5696976A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 17, 1996 |
| Grant date | Dec 9, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 17, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F15/17
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multi-processor system includes an interrupt bus used for arbitrating among eligible processors to determine which processor is to service of an interrupt request. The interrupt bus comprises wired-OR connection data lines that are used for arbitration. A local interrupt controller that handles the acceptance of interrupt request messages on the interrupt bus is associated with each processor. To minimize interruption of high priority tasks, interrupts can be accepted by the processor in the system that is currently running the lowest priority task. An arbitration protocol governs the interrupt bus and determines the lowest priority processor. The arbitration protocol includes choosing one among the lowest priority processors by means of a random priority scheme that uses an arbitration ID that is updated with each message.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.