multislot

Multislot is a term used in several technical fields to describe a mechanism that divides a resource—such as a communication channel, a memory bus, or a data slot—into multiple discrete units that can be used concurrently or in parallel.

In communications and networking, multislot arrangements are common in time-division or frequency-division multiplexing. A frame may be partitioned into multiple time slots, allowing different users or data streams to transmit in separate slots, or multiple slots may be allocated to the same user to transmit high-bandwidth bursts. Multislot scheduling supports higher throughput and more flexible access methods, at the cost of timing coordination and protocol complexity.

In hardware and computer architecture, multislot can describe backplanes, expansion interfaces, or memory controllers that support multiple slots for cards, modules, or channels. A multislot interface provides parallel paths that can be independently addressed or combined for higher aggregate bandwidth, and may support hot-swapping or modular expansion.

In software and standards, multislot concepts appear in resource allocation, such as slot-based task scheduling or frame-based processing where resources are allocated in fixed units.

The exact definition of multislot is context-dependent, and observers should consult the relevant standard or documentation to determine how slots are defined, allocated, and synchronized.

See also: time-division multiplexing, slot, MAC protocol, expansion slot.