Architecture for dynamically reprogrammable arbitration using memory

Abstract

An architecture for a Block RAM (BRAM) based arbiter is provided to enable a programmable logic device (PLD) to efficiently form a memory controller, or other device requiring arbitration. The PLD arbiter provides low latency with a high clock frequency, even when implementing complex arbitration, by using BRAM to minimize PLD resources required. The architecture allows multiple complex arbitration algorithms to be used by allowing the multiple algorithms to be stored in BRAM. With multiple algorithms, dynamic configurability of the arbitration can be provided without halting the arbiter by simply changing an algorithm stored in BRAM. Additionally, algorithms can by dynamically modified by writing to the BRAM. With BRAM memory used for arbitration, PLD resources that would otherwise be wasted are frees up to be used by other components of the system.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.