Patent ID: 7437404

Claim:
A system for connecting semiconductor manufacturing equipment to a host and at least a first client via virtual channels, the system comprising: a first application agent, a host agent, and an equipment agent configured to communicate with the first client, the host, and the manufacturing equipment, respectively; a first application queue, a host queue, and an equipment queue configured to hold messages received from and sent to the first application agent, the host agent, and the equipment agent, respectively; a management information base configured to store information identifying a first virtual channel linking the first client with the manufacturing equipment via the first application queue and the equipment queue, and a second virtual channel linking the host with the manufacturing equipment via the host queue and the equipment queue; and a dispatcher configured to use the information from the management information base to route messages between the first client and the manufacturing equipment via the first virtual channel and to route messages between the host and the manufacturing equipment via the second virtual channel.