Apparatus and method for limit -based arbitration scheme

An arbiter implements an arbitration scheme that allows a requestor that has been granted use of a resource to use the resource for a predetermined number of data transfers before relinquishing the resource. At the time a requestor is granted use of the resource, a register is loaded with a value that defines a limit on the how much the requestor can use the resource. More particularly, the value defines a number of bytes that the requestor is allowed to transfer before being required to relinquish use of the resource. The value is decremented each time the requestor makes a data transfer, as long as there is also a pending request from another requestor. If there is no pending request from another requestor, the value is not decremented even though the requestor has transferred data. Until the time that the value is decremented to zero, the requestor may repeatedly make requests to the arbiter for use of the resource, and the arbiter will continue to grant them. Upon the value becoming zero, however, the arbiter reverts to its original state of handling incoming requests for the resource.