Choosing the interconnect of distributed memory systems by cost and blocking behavior

The paper presents the results of a statistical analysis by which the blocking behavior is investigated of interconnection structures that are major candidates for large distributed memory systems. The analysis answers important questions such as: how many logical connections can exist simultaneously, when will the network saturate, how well are the physical links utilized, and what is the cost of realization of the network. The network topologies considered are the simple 2D-mesh, the hypercube, and an innovative interconnection structure called TICNET. It is shown that the TICNET, which can be realized as a hierarchy of crossbars, is similar in behavior to the hypercube but much more cost-effective. Compared to the 2D-mesh, the TICNET has a much better blocking behavior and is still more cost-effective. The simulation results guide the designer of distributed memory architectures in selecting the most suitable interconnection network