Method and apparatus for dynamic chaining of DMA operations without incurring race conditions

摘要

An apparatus and method for performing direct memory access (DMA) to input/output (I/O) devices are described. In order to overcome storage limitations of a DMA controller, channel control blocks (CCBs) are stored in external memory. The DMA controller is programmed to reference a particular address of the external memory when a predetermined bit, referred to as a chain bit, in a current channel control block is set. The DMA controller will then perform a memory read operation on that area of memory and store a retrieved channel control block at a location previously utilized by an earlier channel control block. This process will continue until the chain bit is reset, at which time a DMA operation is complete. Dynamic chaining is easily accommodated whereby channel control blocks can be dynamically changed during the DMA access to provide a flexible I/O system. The apparatus and method may be used to implement dynamic chaining without incurring race conditions. A wait bit is provided in each channel control block and, when this bit is set, the DMA controller will suspend operations thereby providing an opportunity for updating a chain of CCBs without incurring errors due to race conditions. Once the chain has been modified, the wait bit is reset and processing safely continues.