One-Step Programmable Arbiters for Multiprocessors

When processors in a multiprocessor system demand service from a shared bus in an asynchronous mode, a synchronous state arbiter resolves conflicts and allocates resources. Independent of the combination of requests, only one state transition is required from a free to allocated resource with arbiter structure and priority rules programmed into state machine memory.

This paper describes the functional principles of an arbiter and gives an example....