Abstract: A high priority path is added to the normal low priority path through a multi-stage switching network. The high priority path is established at the quickest possible speed because the high priority command is stored at the switch stage involved and made on a priority basis as soon as an output port becomes available. In addition, a positive feedback is given to the node establishing the connection immediately upon the making of the connection so that it may proceed at the earliest possible moment. The high priority path is capable of processing multiple high priority pending requests, and resolving the high priority contention using a snapshot register which implements a rotating priority such that no one requesting device can ever be locked out or experience data starvation.

Abstract: A triple modular redundancy computing system including three asynchronously connected processing elements, each having its own memory, a plurality of arbiters cross connecting processor elements for enforcing synchronization for tasks and for voting arbitration on output and without voting for inputs.