Communication delay in circuit-switched interconnection networks

Interconnection network design plays a central role in the design of parallel systems. The paper presents an analytical model to predict communication delay in circuit-switched k-ary n-cube interconnection networks augmented with virtual channel support. The main feature of the proposed model is the use of Markov chains to compute the path set-up time and to capture the effects of using virtual channels to reduce message blocking in the network. The mean waiting time that a message experiences at a source node before entering the network is calculated using an M/G/1 queueing system. The model is validated through flit-level simulation experiments.