Methods and apparatus for providing data transfer control
US6260082A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 10, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/28
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A variety of advantageous mechanisms for improved data transfer control within a data processing system are described. A DMA controller is described which is implemented as a multiprocessing transfer engine supporting multiple transfer controllers which may work independently or in cooperation to carry out data transfers, with each transfer controller acting as an autonomous processor, fetching and dispatching DMA instructions to multiple execution units. In particular, mechanisms for initiating and controlling the sequence of data transfers are provided, as are processes for autonomously fetching DMA instructions which are decoded sequentially but executed in parallel. Dual transfer execution units within each transfer controller, together with independent transfer counters, are employed to allow decoupling of source and destination address generation and to allow multiple transfer instructions in one transfer execution unit to operate in parallel with a single transfer instruction in the other transfer unit. Improved flow control of data between a source and destination is provided through the use of special semaphore operations, signals and message synchronization which may be i…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.