Key research problems in NoC design: a holistic perspective

ABSTRACT

Networks-on-Chip (NoCs) have been recently proposed as a promising solution to complex on-chip communication problems. The lack of an unified representation of applications and architectures makes NoC problem formulation and classification both difficult and obscure. To remedy this situation, we provide a general description for NoC architectures and applications and then enumerate several outstanding research problems (denoted by P1-P8) organized under three topics: communication infrastructure synthesis, communication paradigm selection, and application mapping optimization. Far from being exhaustive, the discussed problems are deemed essential for future NoC research.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  J. Computer Applications
  J.6 COMPUTER-AIDED ENGINEERING
      Subjects: Computer-aided design (CAD)

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Performance

Keywords:
Networks-on-Chip motivation, multi-processor systems, problem formulation, proposed solutions and open research problems, systems-on-chip