SONNE - Projeto de SDNoC para MPSoCs heterogêneos

Abstract

Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs) are computer systems composed by multiple processing cores and grouped into a single chip. The design of those systems occurs due to miniaturization of the transistor, caused by the evolution in the technology for design integrated circuits. The MPSoCs allows applications to run faster by distributing threads (application segments that can run simultaneously) over the processing cores. However, these tasks usually exchange information with each other, which require a communication method inside the MPSoC. Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) are examples of communication architectures used for this purpose. NoCs are able to improve communication between the processing cores, providing alternative paths to exchange information. In the conventional NoCs, it is common to use deterministic routing algorithms which define a single route for communication, since they try to avoid concurrent problems, as deadlock, and are simple to be integrated on the routers. However, the use of deterministic routes can cause network congestion. Another NoC’s paradigm is the Software-Defined Networks-on-Chip (SDNoCs), which the routing algorithms are implemented in software, executed in a core manager and it is possible to establish and unestablish virtual circuits to provide the communication between the cores. This allows the use of adaptive routing algorithms and also avoiding deadlocks, since the core manager knows the network’s behaviors. This work describes the proposal and implementation of an SDNoC, also presenting an investigation on it’s behavior when the traffic message’s exchange increases. Besides, the SDNoC simulations are compared with a normal NoC.