<s>
The	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
is	O
a	O
growing	O
architectural	O
approach	O
,	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Cypress	O
Semiconductor	O
,	O
which	O
enhances	O
and	O
modularizes	O
a	O
peripheral	O
controller	O
in	O
an	O
embedded	O
computer	O
architecture	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conceptually	O
,	O
the	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
parallels	O
and	O
complements	O
the	O
decentralization	O
represented	O
by	O
the	O
North	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
and	O
the	O
South	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
notably	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
by	O
Research	O
in	O
Motion	O
to	O
permit	O
extremely	O
high	O
data	O
transfer	O
rates	O
in	O
its	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
North	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
focuses	O
on	O
memory	O
control	O
and	O
the	O
South	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
focuses	O
on	O
"	O
slower	O
"	O
capabilities	O
of	O
the	O
motherboard	O
,	O
the	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
focuses	O
on	O
peripheral	O
control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Being	O
directly	O
connected	O
,	O
peripheral	O
control	O
can	O
be	O
handled	O
wholly	O
and	O
independently	O
through	O
a	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
's	O
controller	O
,	O
leaving	O
a	O
processor	O
offloaded	O
and	O
free	O
to	O
focus	O
on	O
other	O
data	O
intensive	O
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Not	O
only	O
in	O
increasing	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
via	O
the	O
processor	O
,	O
a	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
companion	O
chip	O
may	O
itself	O
serve	O
directly	O
as	O
a	O
peripheral	O
accelerator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
was	O
first	O
introduced	O
by	O
Cypress	O
Semiconductor	O
,	O
which	O
designs	O
products	O
to	O
provide	O
optimal	O
performance	O
and	O
connectivity	O
in	O
the	O
embedded	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
was	O
chosen	O
deliberately	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
meme	O
consistent	O
with	O
the	O
North	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
and	O
South	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
concepts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
"	O
refers	O
both	O
to	O
the	O
architectural	O
scheme	O
in	O
general	O
and	O
to	O
the	O
product	O
family	O
with	O
which	O
it	O
was	O
introduced	O
,	O
by	O
Cypress	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
prime	O
function	O
of	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
devices	O
is	O
to	O
enable	O
connection	O
to	O
these	O
varied	O
interfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
device	O
might	O
handle	O
the	O
MLC	O
NAND	O
management	O
and	O
enable	O
lowest-cost	O
memory	O
support	O
for	O
a	O
main	O
processor	O
,	O
which	O
otherwise	O
would	O
only	O
support	O
NOR	O
or	O
Single-Level	O
Cell	O
NAND	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
commonly	O
supported	O
interfaces	O
of	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
companion	O
chips	O
are	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
West	B-Device
Bridge	I-Device
architecture	O
is	O
relevant	O
to	O
a	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
