8-1
CHAPTER 8
SYSTEM BUS DESIGN
8.1
INTRODUCTION
With the increasing speed of microprocessors, there is a need for efficient input/output devices
(such as disks, video controllers and local area network controllers). The key to successfully sup-
porting I/O options is to have a standard means of connecting them to the motherboard. Each
computer supports a standard system bus. System bus types include ISA, MCA, EISA, PCI, etc.
To exercise the full potential of the Intel486™ processor’s 32-bit system buses, support for 32-
bit I/O devices is required. This chapter discusses two standards supported by the embedded
Intel486 processors: the PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) and EISA (Extended Industry
Standard Architecture) system buses.
A typical embedded Intel486 processor system includes of a system bus that connects various
subsystems. Each subsystem can have its own local bus with local resources and can share global
resources. This approach allows each subsystem to perform operations simultaneously on its lo-
cal bus to yield a significant throughput improvement over single-bus systems.
Intel486 processor system designs may be divided into several subsystems. The first level is the
CPU core, which consists of CPU and second-level cache subsystem memory, cache, and I/O
control. Each of these subsystems have been described in detail in the previous chapters. The sys-
tem bus is the vehicle by which the Intel486 processor communicates with other processing sub-
systems that perform operations simultaneously on their own local buses.
A major concern when designing a system with various subsystems is how to divide the allocated
resources. A designer has to decide which resources should be shared by all the subsystems on
the system bus and which should be located on the local bus. The choice is based on the individual
system's needs in the areas of reliability, integrity, throughput, and performance. Duplicating re-
sources on each local bus, for example, may increase system integrity and local bus performance,
but increase system cost.
8.2
SYSTEM BUS INTERFACE
Subsystems must communicate with one another. Each may be able to stand alone as a processing
unit but must share information. The system bus is the vehicle by which information may be
transferred. In addition, a standard system bus provides a format for all vendors to follow when
building boards or subsystems. This standard allows boards from multiple suppliers to be used in
a system. For a subsystem to access the system bus, the protocol signals associated with that bus
must be provided. In addition, buffers and drivers are needed to provide the necessary AC and
DC drive capability for the address, data, and control signals.
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