Power-aware mapping for reconfigurable NoC architectures

A core mapping method for reconfigurable network-on-chip (NoC) architectures is presented in this paper. In most of the existing methods, mapping is carried out based on the traffic characteristics of a single application. However, several different applications are implemented and integrated in the modern complex system-on-chips which should be considered by mapping methods. In the proposed method, the reconfiguration (which is achieved by embedding programmable switches between routers of a mesh-based NoC) allows us to dynamically change the network topology in order to adapt it with the running application and optimize the power and performance metrics. The presented network architecture can be configured as an application- specific topology, while it still holds the benefits of the regular NoC topologies such as modularity and predictable electrical properties. The experimental results show that this method can effectively adapt the NoC to the running application and improve the power consumption and performance of the system.