Using the NS-2 Network Simulator for Evaluating Network on Chips (NoC)

Networks on chips (NoCs) have been introduced as a remedy for the growing problems of current interconnects in VLSI chips. Being a relatively new domain in research, simulation tools for NoCs are scarce. To fill the gap, we use network simulator NS-2 for simulating NoCs, especially at high level chip design. The huge library of network elements along with its flexibility to accommodate customized designs, NS-2 becomes a viable choice for NoCs. We have used NS-2 to simulate our prototype of a fault tolerant protocol for NoCs