Systems and methods for arbitrating between asynchronous and isochronous data for access to data transport resources

A method for providing data, comprising;

• dividing a data level range of an isochronous queue into a plurality of portions;
• associating a single one of a plurality of arbitration rules with each portion of the data level range, wherein each arbitration rule states conditions used to determine whether data is provided from the isochronous queue or an asynchronous queue;
• determining a level of data within the isochronous queue;
• determining a target portion of the data level range in which the level of data resides;
• and
• applying the arbitration rule associated with the target portion of the data level range in order to provide data from either the isochronous queue or the asynchronous queue.

A method for providing data, comprising:

• grouping a plurality of asynchronous queues to form an asynchronous group;
• grouping a plurality of isochronous queues to form an isochronous group;
• determining levels of data within the isochronous queues;
• selecting a target group from among the asynchronous and isochronous groups dependent upon the levels of data within the isochronous queues;
• selecting a data queue within the target group;
• providing data from the selected data queue;
• dividing a data level range of each of the isochronous queues into a plurality of portions;
• and
• associating a single one of a plurality of arbitration rules with each possible combination of the portions of the data level ranges of the isochronous queues, wherein each arbitration rule states conditions used to determine whether data is provided from the asynchronous group or the isochronous group.

A method for providing data, comprising:

• grouping a plurality of asynchronous queues to form a asynchronous group;
• grouping a plurality of isochronous queues to form a isochronous group;
• dividing a data level range of each of the isochronous queues into a plurality of portions;
• associating a single one of a plurality of arbitration rules with each possible combination of the portions of the data level ranges of the isochronous queues, wherein each arbitration rule states conditions used to determine whether data is provided from the asynchronous group or the isochronous group;
• determining levels of data within each of the isochronous queues;
• determining a target portion of the data level range of each of the isochronous queues in which the level of data resides;
• and
• applying the arbitration rule associated with the combination of the portions of the data level ranges including the target portions of the data level ranges in order to select a target group from among the asynchronous and isochronous groups;
• selecting a data queue within the target group;
• and
• providing data from the selected data queue.

A computer system, comprising:

• a data transport resource;
• an asynchronous queue for storing asynchronous data;
• an isochronous queue for storing isochronous data, wherein the isochronous queue comprises a data level range divided into a plurality of portions;
• and
• an arbiter coupled to the data transport resource, the asynchronous queue, and the isochronous queue, wherein the arbiter is configured to arbitrate between the asynchronous queue and the isochronous queue for access to the data transport resource dependent upon the portion of the data level range in which a level of data resides within the isochronous queue;
• wherein the isochronous queue comprises a plurality of memory locations operated in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) manner, and wherein the number of memory locations within the isochronous queue defines the data level range of the isochronous queue;
• and
• wherein the isochronous queue further comprises a write pointer and a read pointer, and wherein the write pointer indicates the next available memory location for storing isochronous data, and wherein the read pointer indicates the next memory location containing unread isochronous data, and wherein the level of data within the isochronous queue is the number of memory locations between the write pointer and the read pointer.