Patent ID: 7673170

Claim:
An integrated circuit (IC) device comprising: a function block to perform a core function of the IC device; a bus controller through which the function block is to communicate with another IC device with a bus protocol over an attachment bus having a plurality of bus transmission lines; and an error correction module (ECM) to adapt the bus protocol to a failure involving one or more but not all of the bus transmission lines, so that the bus protocol remains functional for the function block to communicate, with the other IC device via the bus controller, despite the failure, wherein, after detection of the failure, the ECM is to perform a handshake procedure with the other IC device via the bus by transferring one or more signature sequences until a reply is received from the other IC device, each signature sequence indicates to the other IC device that a corresponding error correction mode is supported by the ECM, the reply to acknowledge that one of the corresponding error correction mode is supported by the other IC device, the one corresponding error correction mode to be used as a mutually agreed upon error correction protocol for the IC device to communicate with the other IC device in the presence of the failure.