Robert A Geller

US Patent:

46047093, Aug 5, 1986

Filed:

Feb 14, 1983

Appl. No.:

6/465952

Inventors:

Frederick T. Blount - Hopewell Junction NY
Robert S. Capowski - Verbank NY
Daniel F. Casper - Poughkeepsie NY
Lawrence R. DelSonno - Beacon NY
Robert F. Geller - Wappingers Falls NY
Joseph M. Kusmiss - El Paso TX
Terrence K. Zimmerman - Red Hook NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corp. - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 1314
G06F 1338

US Classification:

364900

Abstract:

A channel communicator CC has a storage array for holding an entry for each channel and for holding a busy vector and an interrupt vector that each have a bit for each channel. The CC is connected between the input bus and the output bus that connect the channels and an I/O processor IOP to processor main store. A message to the CC includes the ID of the channel that the message is to or from and the CC uses this ID as an address for accessing a channel entry or a bit in a vector. The message also carries a command that controls the CC to store a data portion of a message or to fetch a channel entry or a vector from the array and load it onto the output bus addressed to the IOP or to one of the channels. The command also controls addressing a particular one of the vectors. The CC also has means responsive to a command to perform a sequence of operations for testing the vectors and for testing fields of an entry in the array and for using the results of the test to control the execution of the command.