Texas Instruments Corporation

Andrew W Lueck

Kevin Main

Jeffrey H Enoch

A PCI Express to PCI bridge enables upstream and downstream isochronous data transfer by modifying the PCI bus arbiter so that the PCI device on the PCI bus is treated as a virtual port for the bridge. Data from the PCI device is assigned via a port arbitration table to sufficient bandwidth so that the data from the PCI device can be transferred upstream isochronously. The bridge also handles downstream isochronous data transfer.

PCI express to PCI translation bridge

A system having a PCI Express fabric and PCI devices connected thereto transmits data from the PCI devices having PCI Express traffic classes assigned. A PCI Express to PCI bridge assigns a predetermined address to the grant line for each PCI device coupled to the PCI bus and stores this address along with the data from the PCI device in the PCI transaction queues. When the data is transmitted along the PCI Express fabric, or when it is processed within the PCI Express to PCI bridge, the address assigned to the respective grant line becomes the PCI Express traffic class for that data. This enables the commands from one device to be processed irrespective of commands from other PCI devices on the PCI bus.

Generating multiple traffic classes on a PCI Express fabric from PCI devices

The present invention provides a system for signaling legacy serialized interrupts within a PCI-Express environment, using message signaled interrupts. The system provides structures and methods that interface a PCI environment () with a PCI-Express environment (). The present invention provides a PCI to PCI-Express bridge device () that is communicatively linked () to the PCI and PCI-Express environments. The bridge device comprises a translation function () that is communicatively linked () to the PCI and PCI-Express environments. A serialized interrupt is signaled from the PCI environment, and the translation function generates a message signaled interrupt within the PCI-Express environment based on that serialized interrupt.

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Plano, TX, United States of America

Andrew W Lueck