Patent ID: 7650539

Claim:
An apparatus for observing a device, comprising: a set of counters, said set of counters receives a set of signals from said device during an operational mode of said device, each counter maintains associated count data of a number of times an event occurs during said operational mode based on said set of signals; a selection component, the selection component is coupled to an output of each counter; a counter control circuit in communication with each counter and with the selection component; a Debug Bus interface in communication with said selection component and said counter control circuit; and a Debug Bus in communication with said Debug Bus interface, the counter control circuit, during said operational mode, provides a select signal to the selection component to select count data of the counters, and to provide the selected count data to the Debug Bus interface, where multiple bits of count data are selected at a time from at least one of the counters, the counter control circuit provides a control signal to the Debug Bus interface to provide the selected count data on the Debug Bus, and the Debug Bus has a width of multiple bits; the selection component comprises a multiplexer which selects multi-bit count data of different counters at different times, one counter at a time, and the different times are spaced apart so that the selected multi-bit count data is provided on the Debug Bus at a data rate which is less than a maximum data rate of the Debug Bus, and which matches an operational data rate of equipment which observes the Debug Bus.