lineaariväylän

Lineaariväylä, often translated as linear bus, is a fundamental concept in computer architecture referring to a shared communication pathway that connects multiple devices. In this architecture, all devices transmit and receive data over the same set of wires. This means that only one device can actively use the bus at any given time to prevent data collisions. When a device needs to send data, it first gains control of the bus, then transmits its information, and finally relinquishes control.

The simplicity of the linear bus topology makes it easy to implement and cost-effective. However, its main limitation is performance. As more devices are added to the bus, the probability of contention increases, leading to slower data transfer rates. Each device must wait its turn, and the total bandwidth is shared among all connected components. This can create a bottleneck, especially in systems with high data throughput requirements. Despite these limitations, linear buses were prevalent in early computer systems and continue to be used in certain embedded applications where cost and simplicity are prioritized over raw speed. Examples include some industrial control systems and older peripherals. The development of more sophisticated bus architectures, such as point-to-point connections and switched networks, has largely replaced the linear bus in high-performance computing environments.