In computer science, a local bus is a computer bus that connects directly, or almost directly, from the CPU to one or more slots on the expansion bus. The significance of direct connection to the CPU is avoiding the bottleneck created by the expansion bus, thus providing fast throughput. There are several local buses built into various types of computers to increase the speed of data transfer. Local buses for expanded memory and video boards are the most common.
VESA Local Bus is an example of a local bus design.
Although VL-Bus was later succeeded by AGP, it is not correct to categorize AGP as a local bus. Whereas VL-Bus operated on the CPU's memory bus at the CPU's clock speed, an AGP peripheral runs at specified clock speeds that run independently of the CPU clock (usually using a divider of the CPU clock).
Famous quotes containing the words local and/or bus:
“The improved American highway system ... isolated the American-in-transit. On his speedway ... he had no contact with the towns which he by-passed. If he stopped for food or gas, he was served no local fare or local fuel, but had one of Howard Johnson’s nationally branded ice cream flavors, and so many gallons of Exxon. This vast ocean of superhighways was nearly as free of culture as the sea traversed by the Mayflower Pilgrims.”
—Daniel J. Boorstin (b. 1914)
“It seemed a long way from 143rd Street. Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina. Dancing with the Duke of Devonshire was a long way from not being allowed to bowl in Jefferson City, Missouri, because the white customers complained about it.”
—Althea Gibson (b. 1927)