Hierarchical memory access via pipelining with deferred arbitration

A circuit arrangement, comprising:

• a multi-stage pipelined network defining at least one pipeline between a plurality of initiators and a shared resource, the multi-stage pipelined network including first and second stages, wherein the first stage is disposed intermediate the second stage and the shared resource;
• first and second arbitration circuits coupled respectively to the first and second stages of the multi-stage pipelined network, wherein each arbitration circuit is configured to receive requests for access to the resource from at least one initiator and forward such requests to the shared resource, wherein the second arbitration circuit is configured to forward requests to the shared resource via the first arbitration circuit, and wherein the first arbitration circuit is configured to communicate at least one arbitration signal to the second arbitration circuit for use by the second arbitration circuit in arbitrating between requests received thereby.

A method of transferring data between a plurality of initiators and a resource that is shared by the plurality of processes, comprising:

• receiving in a multi-stage pipelined network coupled intermediate the plurality of initiators and the resource a first request for access to the resource from a first initiator among the plurality of initiators, wherein the multi-stage pipelined network defines at least one pipeline between the plurality of initiators and the resource, and wherein the multi-stage pipelined network includes first and second stages, with the first stage disposed intermediate the second stage and the resource;
• forwarding the first request to a first access controller coupled to the first stage of the multi-stage pipelined network using a second access controller coupled to the second stage of the multi-stage pipelined network;
• performing arbitration for the first and second stages of the multi-stage pipelined network using the first access controller, including selecting the first request for access to the resource and communicating at least one arbitration signal from the first access controller to the second access controllerl for use by the second access controller in initiating processing of the first request over the multi-stage pipelined network.