QoS aware BiNoC architecture

A quality-of-service (QoS) aware, bi-directional channel NoC (BiNoC) architecture is proposed to support guarantee-service (GS) traffic while reducing packet delivery latency. By incorporating dynamically self-reconfigured bidirectional communication channels between adjacent routers, BiNoC architecture promises more flexibility for various traffic flow patterns. A novel inter-router communication protocol is proposed that prioritizes bandwidth arbitration in favor of high priority GS traffic flows. Multiple virtual channels with prioritized routing policy are also implemented to facilitate data transmission with QoS considerations. Combining these architectural innovations, the QoS aware BiNoC promises reduced latency of packet delivery and more efficient channel resource utilizations. Cycle-accurate simulations demonstrate significant performance advantage over conventional unidirectional NoC architecture equipped with hard-wired unidirectional channels.