Abstract: Circuitry and complementary logic are provided to a bus controller, a number of 1:n bus signal distributors, and a number of bus interfaces of an hierarchical bus assembly for conducting data communication transactions between bus agents interconnected to the hierarchical bus assembly. The hierarchical serial bus assembly is used to serially interface a number of isochronous and asynchronous peripherals to the system unit of a computer system. These circuitry and complementary logic of the serial bus elements implement a number of elemental packets and a number of transaction protocols, employing a master/slave model of transaction flow control. Data communication transactions are conducted using the elemental packets and in accordance to the transaction protocols. In some embodiments, these circuitry and complementary logic of the serial bus elements are also used to conduct connection management transactions between the serial bus elements.

Abstract: Circuitry and complementary logic are provided to a bus controller, a number of 1:n bus signal distributors, and a number of bus interfaces of an hierarchical serial bus assembly for the bus controller to dynamically generate and maintain a frame based polling schedule for polling the functions of the bus agents connected to the serial bus assembly and the serial bus elements themselves. The hierarchical serial bus assembly is used to serially interface a number of isochronous and asynchronous peripherals to the system unit of a computer system. These circuitry and complementary logic of the serial bus elements support gathering of various critical operating characteristics by the bus controller. The circuitry and logic provided to the bus controller in turn generate the frame based polling schedule in accordance to these gathered critical operating characteristics, guaranteeing latencies and bandwidths to the isochronous functions of the isochronous peripherals.

Abstract: Circuitry and complementary logic are provided to a bus controller, a number of 1:n bus signal distributors, and a number of bus interfaces of an hierarchical bus assembly for conducting data communication transactions between bus agents interconnected to the hierarchical bus assembly. The hierarchical serial bus assembly is used to serially interface a number of isochronous and asynchronous peripherals to the system unit of a computer system. These circuitry and complementary logic of the serial bus elements implement a number of elemental packets and a number of transaction protocols, employing a master/slave model of transaction flow control. Data communication transactions are conducted using the elemental packets and in accordance to the transaction protocols. In some embodiments, these circuitry and complementary logic of the serial bus elements are also used to conduct connection management transactions between the serial bus elements.

Abstract: A bus controller, a number of 1:n bus signal distributors, and a number of bus interfaces are provided for form an hierarchical serial bus assembly for serially interfacing a number of isochronous and asynchronous peripherals to the system unit of a computer system. The bus controller, bus signal distributors, and bus interfaces are provided with circuitry and complementary logic for implementing a master/slave model of flow control for serially interfacing the bus agents to each other to conduct data communication transactions. In certain embodiments, these circuitry and complementary logic further conduct connection management transactions employing also the master/slave model of flow control, implement a frame based polling schedule for polling the slave "devices", employ at least two address spaces to conduct the various transactions, support communication packet based transactions, and/or electrically represent data and/or control states.