US Patent 7660939 Operating system arrangement for flexible computer system design

A programmable logic device with an embedded operating system is disclosed. The programmable logic device includes a bus, memory, a number of bidirectional communication ports, a switching mechanism. The operating system embedded in the programmable logic device responds to input received through the ports by either sending data to a device connected to one such port, or by instructing the switching mechanism to establish a direct connection between two such ports. This device may be included as part of a larger computer system.