A stream-based reconfigurable router prototype

Flexible and fast routers are generally considered a contradiction in terms since maintaining high-throughput requires fast but fixed-configuration application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) while flexibility requires slower but flexible configuration of general-purpose processors. A configurable stream-based reconfigurable router is a fast, flexible solution that includes the best features of both hardware and software processing through the efficient use of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, active VHDL, and hardware/software partitioning and scheduling algorithms. This paper discusses the architecture of the stream-based reconfigurable router and presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a prototype reconfigurable router.