Apparatus and technique for maintaining order among requests directed to a same address on an external bus of an intermediate network node
US6832279B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 17, 2001 |
| Grant date | Dec 14, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 7, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/405
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus and technique off-loads responsibility for maintaining order among requests directed to a same address on a split transaction bus from a processor to a split transaction bus controller, thereby increasing the performance of the processor. The present invention comprises an ordering circuit that enables the controller to defer issuing a subsequent (write) request directed to an address on the bus until a previous (read) request directed to the same address completes. By off-loading responsibility for maintaining order among requests from the processor to the controller, the invention enhances performance of the processor since the processor may proceed with program execution without having to stall to ensure such ordering. The ordering circuit maintains ordering in an efficient manner that is transparent to the processor.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.