Method and apparatus for transferring data in source-synchronous protocol and transferring signals in common clock protocol in multiple agent processing system
US6336159B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 13, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 1, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 13, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/405
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for transferring data between bus agents in a computer system. The present invention includes transmitting a control signal, from a first agent to a second agent, via a first transfer protocol; and, transmitting data corresponding to the control signal, from the first agent to the second agent, via a second transfer protocol. In one embodiment, the control signals are transmitted from the first agent to the second agent via a synchronous transmission with respect to a bus clock; and, the data is transmitted via an asynchronous transmission with respect to the bus clock, which has a data width greater than the synchronous transmission. In addition, in one embodiment of the present invention, the synchronous transmission is a common clock data transfer protocol, and the asynchronous transmission is a source clock data transfer protocol.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.