System and method for transferring data using separate pipes for command and data

Abstract

A computer system includes a host computer and a peripheral memory device such as a CD ROM which are interconnected by a bus including a plurality of pipes defined by packets, time division multiplexing, frequency division multiplexing, or code division multiplexing. A plurality of pipe configuration registers are maintained for controlling bus configuration. A BUS controller for the bus includes a plurality of registers for controlling data transfer including pipe data flow direction, packet size, control information, bandwidth setting, and descriptor pointer. The plurality of pipes can have different bandwidths and latencies to efficiently facilitate the transfer of commands, data, and control information. The peripheral memory device is able to transfer and receive data directly to and from the host computer using a dedicated pipe without the need of a buffer memory at the peripheral device.