Abstract: An interface device called an adapter is provided for interconnecting data terminal equipment (DTE) to a communication highway. The adapter includes a plurality of command/status registers coupled through a decoding device to the data bus and control lines of a microprocessor. An Internal Modem Interface (IMI) circuit arrangement monitors the decoding device and command/status registers and depending on the contents of the command/status registers and/or the status of the signals on the interface the IMI enables/disables the receive and transmit logic functions of the adapter. The adapter also includes a circuit arrangement which monitors traffic or signals on the data highway without affecting the electrical characteristics of the traffic.

Abstract: An architecture for interconnecting a plurality of remote processors to a primary processor. The architecture provides an improved interface and a communication channel for interconnecting the processors. The interface includes a commonly shared buffer which stores messages to be exchanged between the primary processor and the remote processors. A controller (microprocessor based) is provided to manage the buffer and the communication channel. The controller gives the primary processor direct access to the buffer periodically. Likewise, the controller uses a polling technique to enable each remote processor to communicate, over the communication channel, with the shared buffer.