Inventors:
Ian A. Concilio - Boca Raton FL
Jeffrey A. Hawthorne - Atlanta GA
Chester A. Heath - Boca Raton FL
Jorge F. Lenta - Boca Raton FL
Long D. Ngyuen - Boca Raton FL
Assignee:
International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY
International Classification:
G06F 1318
Abstract:
In a computer system having both peripherals having their own DMA channel arbiter and peripherals having no arbiter, a separate arbitration unit, controlled directly by the CPU, is provided to arbitrate on behalf of peripherals having no arbiter. The CPU can thus freely assign different arbitration levels to such peripherals, and can instruct the arbitration unit to simultaneously arbitrate on different arbitration levels or for two or more DMA channels.