CAREER: System-level Design of Network-on-Chip Architectures

0546462PI：Karamvir S.ChathaArizona State University CAREER：片上网络体系结构的系统级设计未来的片上系统(SoC)体系结构将以低于50 nm的技术实现，并包括在多GHz范围内运行的数十到数百个不同的处理单元块。片上互连网络将是决定这些多核设备的性能和功耗的关键因素。为了满足这些多核SoC体系结构的通信需求，分组交换互连网络或片上网络(NoC)已经成为传统基于总线的体系结构的一种有吸引力的替代方案。NoC设计中的关键挑战是在紧迫的上市时间要求下生产出复杂、高性能和低能耗的体系结构。NoC架构将在严格的性能约束下支持数百个内核的通信需求。除了复杂性之外，NOC的设计者还必须应对纳米技术设计的物理挑战。NoC设计问题需要对系统级平面图的热分布和网络的功耗进行联合优化。所有这些因素，加上对短周转时间的要求，增加了对知识产权(IP)重用方法的需求，该方法得到了设计和优化技术以及性能评估模型的良好支持。本项目为基于IP重用的NoC体系结构设计完成了以下三项任务：(I)NoC体系结构设计和优化技术的发展：该技术支持具有常规和定制拓扑的NoC体系结构的设计。这些设计技术解决了纳米级技术中出现的热布局、高功耗和长信号传输延迟的问题。(Ii)为NOC路由器开发可定制的IP块：路由器架构的可定制功能允许将其集成到NOC设计流程中，用于具有多个服务质量级别的常规拓扑和特定于应用的拓扑。(Iii)开发可定制路由器的性能和功耗模型：处于不同抽象级别的模型支持NoC架构的设计空间探索、优化和性能验证。该项目的教育贡献包括编制国家奥委会课程项目目录，招收研究生院本科生，通过以行业为重点的课程进行技术转让，以及增加代表性不足群体的参与。智能优势：多核SoC设备是解决技术扩展的功耗障碍的唯一解决方案。该项目克服了成功实现深纳米技术中多核SoC器件的关键挑战。该项目还通过使VLSI设计迁移到下一个更高的抽象级别，即系统级别，实现了设计生产率的显著提高。广泛的影响：该项目支持的SoC架构是嵌入式设备的基本组件，已渗透到人类活动的方方面面。因此，该项目显著受益于包括医疗仪器、手机、汽车控制器、娱乐单元、辅助设备等在内的每个人机交互界面。教育影响包括将系统级设计课程整合到本科和研究生课程中。

0546462PI: Karamvir S. ChathaArizona State UniversityCAREER: System-level Design of Network-on-Chip ArchitecturesSystem-on-Chip (SoC) architectures in future will be implemented in less than 50nm technology and include tens to hundreds of heterogeneous processing element blocks operating in the multi-GHz range. The on-chip interconnection network will be a key factor in determining the performance and power consumption of these multi-core devices. Packet switched interconnection networks or Network-on-Chip (NoC) has emerged as an attractive alternative to traditional bus-based architectures for satisfying the communication requirements of these multi-core SoC architectures. The key challenge in NoC design is to produce a complex, high performance and low energy architecture under tight time to market requirements. The NoC architectures would support the communication demands of hundreds of cores under stringent performance constraints. In addition to the complexity, the NoC designers would also have to contend with the physical challenges of design in nanoscale technologies. The NoC design problem would entail a joint optimization of the thermal profile of the system-level floorplan and power consumption of the network. All these factors coupled with the requirement for short turn around times raises the need for an intellectual property (IP) re-use methodology that is well supported with design and optimization techniques, and performance evaluation models.The project accomplishes the following three tasks for the IP re-use based methodology for design of NoC architectures: (i) Development of design and optimization techniques for NoC architectures: The techniques support design of NoC architectures with both regular and custom topologies. The design techniques address the issue of thermal floorplanning, high power consumption, and long signal propagation delays that arise in nanoscale technologies. (ii) Development of a customizable IP block for NoC router: The customizable features of the router architecture permit its integration into NoC design flows for both regular and application-specific topologies with multiple levels of quality-of-service. (iii) Development of performance and power consumption models for the customizable router: The models that are at various levels of abstraction enable design space exploration, optimization and performance verification of NoC architectures. The education contributions of the project include development of catalogue of course projects on NoC, recruitment of undergraduate students for graduate school, technology transfer through industry focused curriculum, and increased participation of under-represented groups. Intellectual merit: Multi-core SoC devices are the only solution to the power consumption roadblocks of technology scaling. The project overcomes a key challenge to the successful realization of multi-core SoC devices in deep nanoscale technologies. The project also achieves an appreciable increase in design productivity by enabling the migration of VLSI design to the next higher level of abstraction, namely the system level. Broad impact: SoC architectures that are enabled by the project are the essential component of embedded devices which have permeated through all facets of human activities. Therefore, the project significantly benefits every interface of human-computer interaction including medical instruments, cell phones, automobile controllers, entertainment units, assistive devices and so on. Education impact includes integration of system-level design courses into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum.