A UNIVERSAL DEVICE FOR COUPLING A COMPUTER BUS TO A SPECIFIC LINK OF A NETWORK AND OPERATING SYSTEM THEREFOR

An operating system (GPOS) for universal device (GPU) for coupling a computer bus (PSB) to at least one specific link of a network (RN), the device includes a microprocessor (CPU) associated with at least one memory (SRAM) containing this system and means (MPC, B.sub.2, VRAM, B.sub.1, DMAC) for transferring frames from the computer bus to the link. The system is associated with a plurality of applications (A.sub.1 -A.sub.n) independent of one another, and includes a central core (NY) managing and organizing the work of each of the applications in real time, an applications manager (GA), which supervises and defines the state each of the applications must be in, and an intercommunications server (SA) for the applications, enabling each of them to request the services of another when that proves necessary. The core, the manager and the intercommunications server communicate between one another via system calls.