NoC Topologies Exploration based on Mapping and Simulation Models

NoC architectures are considered the next generation of communication infrastructure for future systems-on- chip. Selection of the network architecture and mapping of IP nodes onto the NoC topology are two important research topics. In this paper we compare well known NoC interconnect systems, specifically, Ring, 2d-Mesh, Spidergon and unbuffered Crossbar using theoretical uniform traffic based on the request/reply paradigm as well as a realistic traffic based on a Mpeg4 application. The IP mapping is computed by the SCOTCH partitioning tool opportunely modified to maximize selected embedding quality criteria under multiple topological constraints.