Patent ID: 6445680
Filing Date: 2002-09-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
An arbiter for managing data flow between a plurality of input sources and an output destination, comprising:a non empty source queue (NESQ) list having a plurality of entries, each entry corresponding to one input source and comprising a data pointer; a linked list containing an ordered list of pointers to input sources, said ordered list having a head and a tail pointed to by a head pointer and a tail pointer, respectively, said ordered list representing the order said plurality of input sources are permitted to send data to said output destination; wherein each input source is associated with a backpressure indication that indicates whether an input source is permitted to transmit data to said output destination; wherein input sources are selected from the head of said linked list, once a selected source transmits data, it is placed at the tail of said linked list if it has additional data to transmit and is removed from said linked list otherwise; and wherein an input source not previously on said linked list is added thereto when said input source has data available for transmission.