Method and apparatus for interfacing a system control unit for a multi-processor system with input/output units

Abstract From the Canadian patent

In the field of high speed digital computers it is common for the computer to be interfaced to a plurality of input/output (I/O) units. These I/O units allow the computer to interact with the external world and are typically purchased as off-the-shelf units. As the capabilities and speed of computers increase so too must, the rate of data transfer between the computer and its I/O units. This increased rate of transfer is effected without altering the physical connection to the I/O units by an interface having a transmitter and a receiver wherein the transmitter includes a counter which keeps track of the condition of a buffer in the receiver. The counter maintains a record of the number of …