Method and apparatus for allocating a PCI bus to multiple masters for the masters to access targets through the PCI bus

摘要

Method for sharing a PCI bus between several masters so that the masters can read and write to targets connected to the PCI bus, whereby a standard or special arbitrating method can be employed. In the former access to the bus is controlled by master bus access priorities, while in the latter access is controlled deterministically whereby priority is assigned dependent on how long a master has been waiting to use the bus. An Independent claim is made for sharing a PCI bus between masters wishing to access slave targets over the bus.