Masters and Slaves, Initiators and Targets

A Transaction passes between a System Initiator and a System Target. However, in the process it may pass through one or many intermediate blocks (System Interconnect).

Between any two blocks in a system there is a "master sc_port" and "slave sc_export".

Types of intermediate blocks

An intermediate block can perform one of these tasks

1. A Router may "route" the transmission of information (possibly based upon the information itself) to one of several different "targets".
2. An Arbiter may "delay" a transaction until there is space available for it on a bus fabric. Typically Routers and Arbiters are combined.
3. A Bridge may alter the protocol by which the information is being transmitted.
4. A Converter may alter the information being transmitted

Note, A converter is nothing more than an initiator and a target combined together.