An apparatus and method for operating a ring interconnect are disclosed. The ring interconnect has a plurality of nodes that are used to connect to associated components, and is arranged to transport a plurality of slots around the ring interconnect between the nodes in order to transfer items of traffic allocated into those slots between components connected to the nodes. For each item of traffic, one of the components acts as a source to allocate that item of traffic into a slot, and another components acts as destination to seek to remove that item of traffic from the slot. In a default mode of operation, the ring interconnect is arranged to allow all of the slots to be available for transfer of any items of traffic. Special slot management circuitry is provided that is responsive to a throughput alert trigger indicating a potential for occurrence of a throughput inhibiting condition, to cause a slot amongst the plurality of slots to be reserved as a special slot that is constrained for use only when one or more determined conditions are met. Further, the one or more determined conditions are arranged to cause the special slot to be used in a manner that seeks to avoid the throughput inhibiting condition arising.