Adaptive multimodule routers

Recent multiprocessors such as the Cray T3D support interprocessor communication using partitioned dimension-order routers (PDRs). In a PDR implementation, the routing logic and switching hardware is partitioned into multiple modules, with each module suitable for implementation as a chip. This paper proposes a method to incorporate adaptivity into such routers with simple changes to the router structure and logic. We show that with as few as two virtual channels per physical channel, adaptivity can be provided to handle nonuniform traffic in multidimensional meshes.