Skew management in an interconnection system
View Patent ↗An interconnection system is described where data lanes may be exchanged between lines at intervals along a transmission path so that the differential time delay between bits on a plurality of the lines is reduced when determined at a receiving location. The data lanes may be bound to the lines through the operation of a configurable switch, or by a configurable switch in conjunction with predetermined manufactured connections, or a combination of the techniques. The wiring of a connectorized node module, which may include a memory device, may be configured so that the differential time delay between pairs of input lines of a node, as measured at the output of a node, is reduced.
1. An interconnect system, comprising:
a plurality of active nodes;
a bus having a plurality of signal lines connecting an adjacent pair of active nodes of the plurality of nodes; and
wherein a first data bit on a first signal line of the plurality of signal lines and a second data bit on a second signal line of the plurality of signal lines are exchanged between the first signal line and the second signal line at a first active node of the pair of adjacent active nodes;
wherein the first data bit having a first cumulative time delay at the first active node is exchanged with the second data bit having a second cumulative time delay at the first active node, so as to change a differential time delay between the first data bit and the second data bit at a second active node of the pair of adjacent active nodes, and the first active node is a transmitter of data and the second active node is a receiver of data.
2. The system of claim 1 , where the differential time delay is measured at the output of a data receiver at the second active node.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first cumulative time delay is greater than the second cumulative time delay.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second cumulative time delay is greater than the first cumulative time delay.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein an exchange pattern of a first exchange pattern is used for each subsequent exchange.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein a portion of the exchange pattern is effected by conductive traces.
7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the conductive traces are disposed between connectors on a mother board.
8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the conductive traces are disposed on a connectorized module.
9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the conductive traces are disposed in an electronic circuit mounted on the connectorized module.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein an assignment of data bits to signal lines for data transmitted on the bus is selected such that a desired ordering of data bits is obtained at the receiving node on the bus.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data bits are exchanged such that the data bit having a larger cumulative time delay is exchanged with the data bit having a smaller cumulative time delay.
12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the data is transmitted on three or more signal lines, and the data bits are exchanged such that the data bit having a largest cumulative time delay is exchanged with the data bit having a smallest cumulative time delay.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the cumulative time delay is measured at the second active node.
14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the cumulative time delay is measured at the output of a data receiver at the second active node.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first data bit and the second data bit are exchanged such that the cumulative time delay difference between first data bit and the second data bit data bits on at least a pair of lanes is reduced at an active node of the plurality of active nodes where the data is to be stored or demultiplexed.
16. The interconnection system of claim 1 , wherein an active node of the plurality of active nodes further comprises at least one of a field programmable gate array, or a digital processor.
17. An interconnect system, comprising:
a plurality of nodes, each node of the plurality of nodes having an active electronic circuit configurable to exchange signals between two or more output terminals of the node, the active nodes connected to a bus; and
a bus having a plurality of signal lines connecting the output terminals of a first node and input terminals of a second node of the plurality of nodes, the first and the second nodes on the bus;
wherein a first data bit having a first cumulative time delay at the first node is exchanged with a second data bit having a second cumulative time delay at the first node, so as to change a differential time delay between the first cumulative time delay of the first data bit at the second node and the second cumulative time delay of the second data bit at the second node, and the first node transmits the first and the second data bits and the second node receives the first and the second data bits.
18. A computer program product stored on a non-transient computer readable medium having:
instructions for configuring an active node of an interconnection system comprising active nodes connected by signal lines to:
exchange a first data bit on a first signal line of the plurality of signal lines of a first active node and a second data bit on a second signal line of the plurality of signal lines of a first active node between the first signal line and the second signal line,
wherein the first data bit having a first cumulative time delay at the first active node is exchanged with the second data bit having a second cumulative time delay at the first active node, so as to change a differential time delay between the first data bit and the second data bit at a second active node of a pair of active nodes, and the first active node is a transmitter of data and the second active node is a receiver of data.
19. The computer program product of claim 18 , wherein the active node is a field programmable gate array, or a digital processor.