Patent ID: 8429321

Claim:
A request controller for controlling processing of requests by at least one semiconductor data processing unit, said resource controller comprising: a controller input for receiving a request for said processing unit to switch a context of said processing unit or to switch said processing unit from a current operation to another operation; a resource budget memory in which at least one budget value can be stored, said budget value representing a resource amount of a resource of said processing unit; a budget controller including: a first budget controller input connected to said request controller input; a second budget controller input connected to said memory; a comparator connected to said first budget controller input and said second controller input, for comparing a consumption value associated with said request with said budget value, which comparator includes a comparator output for outputting a request grant signal when said comparison satisfies a predetermined grant criterion and outputting a request reject value when said comparison meets a predetermined reject criterion; a data controller connected to said resource budget memory and said comparator output, for adjusting said budget value when said request grant signal is outputted.