Abstract: A memory interface for multi-port access to a memory unit, such as a static random-access memory (SRAM) device. The memory interface, which is generally adapted for a local area network (LAN) forwarding engine, provides single port read/write access to SRAM device, and arbitrates requests from the access interfaces to allocate bandwidth of the SRAM device among the requests. One embodiment allocates at least 50% of the bandwidth to a peripheral component interface (PCI) bus target interface and a PCI bus master interface, collectively. The arbitration logic may include a plurality of bandwidth control registers associated with respective access interfaces used to determine a permitted amount of bandwidth that an access interface is to have, wherein a request from an access interface is masked based on a value in its associated bandwidth control register. Arbitration can further allocate bandwidth using time division multiplexing.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 29, 1997
Date of Patent:
March 7, 2000
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors:
Dennis Albert Doidge, Douglas Ray Henderson, Edward Hau-chun Ku, Pramod Narottambhai Patel, Joseph M. Rash, Thomas Eric Ryle