Range-based dynamic routing of hierarchical on chip network traffic

In this paper, we propose a technique for dynamically routing packets within a hierarchical network on chip (NoC). The concept of a local router range (analogous to other forms of locality awareness) determines on which hierarchy level a packet should be routed. In previous work, the degree of this locality awareness was static and uniform across the entire network. This paper shows that, using a decentralized control mechanism, a single network node can estimate the value and variation in network-wide instantaneous average throughput and delay. Utilizing this ability in a control algorithm, we evaluate the effect of dynamic locality awareness at each network node and show overall throughput:delay ratio increases up to 3.42× that of unoptimized hierarchical networks.