Pre-announce signaling for interconnect built-in self test

摘要

An integrated circuit (IC) component of a computer system, intended for use as part of a production version of the system, is provided with a built-in test unit and core function circuitry that are coupled to transfer information over the same I/O buffer circuitry of the component. The test unit is to transfer test information during a test session and to recognize announcement of the test session via an assertion and a deassertion, for predetermined time intervals, of an inter-component signal.