A Reconfigurable Source-Synchronous On-Chip Network for GALS Many-Core Platforms

Abstract:

This paper presents a GALS-compatible circuitswitched
on-chip network that is well suited for use in many-core
platforms targeting streaming DSP and embedded applications
which typically have a high degree of task-level parallelism
among computational kernels. Inter-processor communication is
achieved through a simple yet effective reconfigurable source-
synchronous network. Interconnect paths between processors can
sustain a peak throughput of one word per cycle. A theoretical
model is developed for analyzing the performance of the network.
A 65 nm CMOS GALS chip utilizing this network was fabricated
which contains 164 programmable processors, three accelerators
and three shared memory modules. For evaluating the efficiency
of this platform, a complete 802.11a WLAN baseband receiver
was implemented. It has a real-time throughput of 54 Mbps with
all processors running at 594 MHz and 0.95 V, and consumes
an average of 174.8 mW with 12.2 mW (or 7.0%) dissipated by
its interconnect links and switches. With the chip's dual supply
voltages set at 0.95 V and 0.75 V, and individual processors
oscillators operating at workload-based optimal frequencies, the
receiver consumes 123.2 mW, which is a 29.5% reduction in
power. Measured power consumption values from the chip are
within 2--5% of the estimated values.

Paper

  PDF (602 KB),   (c) Copyright, 2010, IEEE

Reference

A. T. Tran, D. N. Truong, and B. M. Baas, "A Reconfigurable Source-Synchronous On-Chip Network for GALS Many-Core Platforms," Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, IEEE Transactions on , vol.29, no.6, pp.897-910, June 2010

BibTeX Entry

@ARTICLE{Tran:TCAD2010,
   author={A. T. Tran and D. N. Truong and B. M. Baas},
   journal={Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems, IEEE Transactions on}, 
   title={A Reconfigurable Source-Synchronous On-Chip Network for {GALS} Many-Core Platforms},
   year={2010},
   month={Jun.},
   volume={29},
   number={6},
   pages={897-910},
   doi={10.1109/TCAD.2010.2048594},
   ISSN={0278-0070}
}