A logic circuit that translates signals, protocols, and timing between two independent data buses, allowing them to communicate. It manages the flow of data by buffering packets, converting bus widths, and handling arbitration so that a fast processor bus can talk to a slower peripheral bus without stalling the system.
We need to drop a PCI-to-ISA bus bridge onto the board to support the legacy control hardware.
A poorly designed bus bridge can introduce severe latency, creating a bottleneck that throttles the faster bus while it waits for acknowledgments from the slower one.
Related terms
Northbridge
The historic motherboard chip that managed high-speed communication between the CPU, memory, and graphics.
Southbridge
A historic motherboard controller chip that handles slower peripheral connections.
System bus
A shared communication pathway that links the CPU, memory, and peripherals in a computer.
Control bus
A set of physical connections used by a central processing unit to communicate control signals to other hardware.