ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT WITH PROCESSING UNITS COUPLED VIA A COMMUNICATION NETWORK

摘要

In an electronic circuit data is transmitted between data processing circuits across a network (12). A two-way network interface is provided for both sending transmission messages and receiving reception messages between a pair of processors through the network. The network interface uses transmission messages to transmit both data and information representing respective amounts of unreported buffer space R for receiving data items from reception messages in a buffer storage circuit (27) for the processing circuit (10). The network interface holds up transmission of a transmission message from a particular one of the data processing circuits (10) until a number A of data items, that the particular one of the data processing circuits (10) has made available for transmission in the message and for which buffer space is available across the network (12), exceeds a threshold. However the threshold is lowered, or the transmission message is transmitted before the threshold is exceeded in response to an increase in the amount R of unreported available buffer space in the buffer storage circuit (27) for the particular one of the processing circuits (10).