Patent ID: 7734442

Claim:
An apparatus for a test and measurement instrument, the instrument comprising: a plurality of integrated circuits, including a first integrated circuit and a last integrated circuit, wherein at least one of the integrated circuits is a specialized device; a plurality of memory controllers, wherein each integrated circuit is connected to its own memory controller; a memory facility, wherein each memory controller is connected to its own memory; a plurality of high-speed interconnects, wherein the integrated circuits are connected by the high-speed interconnects in a circular arrangement with each integrated circuit being directly connected to the integrated circuits immediately adjacent on either side; a bridge, wherein at least the first and last integrated circuits are connected to the bridge; a system bus, wherein the bridge is connected to the system bus; an acquisition module having a signal bus interface and acquisition memory, wherein the system bus is connected to the acquisition module and has its own acquisition hardware, and wherein the acquisition hardware comprises a direct memory access machine that can transfer data to any portion of the memory; and a signal source, wherein the signal source is connected to the signal bus interface.