Expandable repeater controller

A dual expandable repeater controller system for connecting workstations, said system comprising a pair of controllers, each one of said pair including:

• a plurality of transceivers for data communication with said workstations, a decoder for decoding data received from said transceivers;
• an encoder for encoding data sent to said transceivers;
• a state machine for controlling operations of said transceivers;
• and
• an expansion port circuit, controlled by said state machine, for receiving decoded data from said decoder and sending data to said encoder, said expansion port circuit including means for transmitting over a first expansion port an outgoing interface signal when said expandable repeater controller is going to transmit data, means for receiving an incoming interface signal over a second expansion port when said expandable repeater controller is requested to receive data and means for transmitting and receiving data over a third expansion port;
• wherein said first expansion port of a first controller of said pair is connected to said second expansion port of a second controller of said pair, wherein said second expansion port of said first controller is connected to said first expansion port of said second controller, and wherein said third expansion port of said first controller is connected to said third expansion port of said second controller.

A triple expandable repeater controller system for connecting workstations, said system comprising:

• three controllers, each one of said controllers including:
• a plurality of transceivers for data communication with said workstations;
• a decoder for decoding data received from said transceivers;
• an encoder for encoding data sent to said transceivers;
• a state machine for controlling operations of said transceivers;
• and
• an expansion port circuit, controlled by said state machine, for receiving decoded data from said decoder and sending data to said encoder;
• said expansion port circuit including:
• means for transmitting over a first expansion port an outgoing interface signal when said expandable repeater controller is going to transmit data;
• means for receiving an incoming interface signal over a second expansion port when said expandable repeater controller is requested to receive data;
• and
• means for transmitting and receiving data over a third expansion port;
• and
• an arbiter coupled to each of said controllers, said arbiter having three input terminals and three output terminals, said input terminals and said output terminals of said arbiter being represented as I1, I2, I3, O1, O2, and O3, respectively, wherein each first expansion port of said controllers is coupled to a respective input terminal, each second expansion port is coupled to a respective output terminal, and each third expansion port is coupled together, said arbiter including means for satisfying:
• O1=I2+I3,
• O2=I1+I3 and
• O3=I1+I2.

A multiple expandable repeater controller system for connecting workstations, said system comprising:

• a plurality of controllers, each one of said plurality of controllers including:
• a plurality of transceivers for data communication with said workstations,
• a decoder for decoding data received from said transceivers,
• an encoder for encoding data sent to said transceivers,
• a state machine for controlling operations of said transceivers, and
• an expansion port circuit, controlled by said state machine, for receiving decoded data from said decoder and sending data to said encoder, said expansion port circuit including:
• means for transmitting over a first expansion port an outgoing interface signal when said expandable repeater controller is going to transmit data;
• means for receiving an incoming interface signal over a second expansion port when said expandable repeater controller is requested to receive data;
• and
• means for transmitting and receiving data over a third expansion port;
• and
• an arbiter coupled to each of said controllers, said arbiter having a plurality of input terminals and a plurality of output terminals, said input terminals and said output terminals of said arbiter being represented as I1, I2, I3, . . . , I(N-1), IN, O1, O2, O3, . . . , O(N-1) and ON, respectively, wherein each first expansion port of said controllers is coupled to a respective input terminal, each second expansion port is coupled to a respective output terminal, and each third expansion port is coupled together, said arbiter including means for satisfying:
• ______________________________________ O1 = I2 + I3 + I4 + . . . + I (N - 1) + IN, O2 = I1 + I3 + I4 + . . . + I (N - 1) + IN, O3 = I1 + I2 + I4 + . . . + I (N - 1) + IN, . . O (N - 1) = I1 + I2 + I3 + . . . + IN, and ON = I1 + I2 + I3 + . . . + I (N - 1). ______________________________________