I2C bus interface and protocol for thermal and power management support

A computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for controlling communications between a master station controller and one or more slave station controllers, each of which is connected to the master station controller with an I2C bus and a separate communication line, by:

• sending a command from a master station controller over the I2C bus to a slave station controller by performing in sequence an I2C write operation and an I2C read operation to the slave station controller;
• receiving within a first timeout interval a response to the command over the I2C bus from the slave station controller after the slave station controller processes the command;
• resending the command from the master station controller over the I2C bus to the slave station controller if a response is not received at the master station controller within the first timeout interval;
• and
• receiving within a second timeout interval a response to the command that was resent by the master station controller, or else logging an error if no response to the command is received within the second timeout interval.

A data processing system comprising:

• a processor;
• a data bus coupled to the processor;
• and
• a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for controlling communications between a master station controller and one or more slave station controllers, each of which is connected to the master station controller with an I2C bus and a separate communication line, by:
• sending a command from a master station controller over the I2C bus to a slave station controller by performing in sequence an I2C write operation and an I2C read operation to the slave station controller;
• receiving within a first timeout interval a response to the command over the I2C bus from the slave station controller after the slave station controller processes the command;
• resending the command from the master station controller over the I2C bus to the slave station controller if a response is not received at the master station controller within the first timeout interval;
• and
• receiving within a second timeout interval a response to the command that was resent by the master station controller, or else logging an error if no response to the command is received within the second timeout interval.