Data communications
US6370148B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 6, 1998 |
| Grant date | Apr 9, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 6, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/20
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved arbiter is described for arbitrating requests by a plurality of first data processing units for access to a plurality of second data processing units interconnected by a switching system of a type in which at any time each first unit can only access one second unit and each second unit can only be accessed by one first unit. The arbiter comprises a scheduler mechanism for repeatedly selecting access requests with a defined minimum probability of selecting a request for each first unit-second unit combination. Rearrangement storage means records requests selected by the scheduler mechanism. A rearranger is provided for repeatedly selecting a set of requests recorded in the rearrangement storage means, so that only one request per first unit and per second unit is selected, using a priority mechanism which increases the probability of selection with the length of time a request is stored in the rearrangement storage means. Finally, means are provided for communicating the grant of the selected set of requests to the switching system and for deleting the selected set of requests from the rearrangement storage means. In one embodiment, the arbiter is used for controlling sw…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.