Operating-system controlled network on chip

Abstract

Managing a Network-on-Chip (NoC) in an efficient way is a challenging task. To succeed, the operating system (OS) needs to be tuned to the capabilities and the needs of the NoC. Only by creating a tight interaction can we combine the necessary flexibility with the required efficiency. This paper illustrates such an interaction by detailing the management of communication resources in a system containing a packet-switched NoC and a closely integrated OS. Our NoC system is emulated by linking an FPGA to a PDA. We show that, with the right NoC support, the OS is able to optimize communication resource usage. Additionally, the OS is able to diminish or remove the interference between independent applications sharing a common NoC communication resource.

Status Data and Communication Aspects in Dynamically Clustered Network‐on‐Chip Monitoring

“…A dedicated control network is used in a centralized operating system controlled NoC [8]. Dedicated resources are also used in [9] where dedicated embedded processors are used to monitor FIFO occupancies and transfer latencies.…”

Solutions for Real Chip Implementation Issues of NoC and Their Application to Memory-Centric NoC

“…1, summing up the energies on switching hops, links and a final destination buffer [1,15]. The area cost of a network can be derived by the equation in Fig.…”

Centralized Run-Time Resource Management in a Network-on-Chip Containing Reconfigurable Hardware Tiles

“…Every tile contains a destination lookup table (DLT) that enables a task to resolve the location of its communication peers. The NoC provides the OS with a set of tools to monitor the resources and to enforce its decisions [12].…”

“…the product of the number of assigned injection slots between two tasks and the hop-distance between them), it is possible to estimate the mapping quality. Indeed, heavily communicating tasks should be mapped close together in order to minimize communication interference [12]. Table 2 shows that the heuristic algorithm performs well under various load conditions.…”

“…An indepth discussion of other components such as our injection rate control mechanism and our hierarchical configuration mechanism is provided in respectively [12] and [13]. The main contribution of this paper is the description of a NoC resource management heuristic that makes efficient use of reconfigurable hardware tiles and that is closely linked to a run-time task migration mechanism.…”