In one set of embodiments, a power management system comprises two or more
devices, such as POL devices, configured to transmit and receive data
over a shared bus, such as an I2C bus, according to the bus protocol of
the shared bus. Each device may be configured with at least one
respective address register, which may be programmed with an address
uniquely identifying the device, and a mask register that may be
configured to mask select bits of the respective address register,
thereby enabling the device to identify device groups. In one embodiment,
one of the devices identifying itself as a master device may distribute
information to any of the other devices by transmitting the information,
which may include commands and/or data, to itself, in effect targeting
the address programmed into its own address register. The devices on the
shared bus may be configured to monitor the bus for events, and respond
to each event according to the requirements inherent within a transmitted
command, thereby performing the necessary tasks to enable power
management functions without the need for interconnecting analog signal
lines.