Route Packets, Not Wires: On-Chip Interconnection Networks

Using on-chip interconnection networks in place of ad-hoc global wiring structures the top level wires on a chip and facilitates modular design. With this approach, system modules (processors, memories, peripherals, etc...) communicate by sending packets to one another over the network. The structured network wiring gives well-controlled electrical parameters that eliminate timing iterations and enable the use of high-performance circuits to reduce latency and increase bandwidth. The area overhead required to implement an on-chip network is modest, we estimate 6.6%. This paper introduces the concept of on-chip networks, sketches a simple network, and discusses some challenges in the architecture and design of these networks.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2001
• Where: DAC
• Authors: William J. Dally, Brian Towles
• Keywords: Ad-hoc Global Wiring, DAC 2001, Design Automation, On-chip Interconnection Networks, On-chip Networks