Abstract: In one aspect, a method is provided. The method includes the steps of (1) sharing memory bandwidth between a processor and one or more direct memory access (DMA) engines; (2) providing memory bandwidth to a DMA engine; (3) starting a data transfer between a memory and the DMA engine, via the memory bandwidth, based on a first preemption boundary value, wherein the data transfer may be preempted after transferring an amount of data equal to an integral multiple of the first preemption boundary value; (4) while transferring data between the memory and DMA engine, determining whether a request for memory bandwidth is received from the processor, wherein the processor is in an interrupt state; and (5) if so, adjusting the first preemption boundary value such that the adjusted preemption boundary value enables the processor to receive memory bandwidth sooner than the first preemption boundary value. Numerous other aspects are provided.