Communication device, electronic device, and communication method

Abstract

A communication device, an electronic device, and a communication method. The communication device includes a network layer unit, a link layer unit, and a first multiplexing control unit. The network layer unit is located in the network layer and includes a first interface; the link layer unit is located in the data link layer and includes at least a first bus unit and a second bus unit, the first bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type, and the second bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a second protocol type; the first multiplexing control unit is configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively. The communication device can balance bandwidth requirements and effectively improve bandwidth utilization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a communication device, an electronic device, and a communication method. Background Art

[0002] A System On Chip (SOC) generally refers to a digital computer system implemented on a single chip. Modules in the SOC interact through a bus. However, with the rapid development of semiconductor processes and requirements, the width of the bus has become a bottleneck in the development of the SOC, greatly restricting the speed of internal communication in the SoC. In the 1990s, the Network On Chip (NOC) was proposed to solve the architecture problem of the SOC to enable communication between modules in the system on a chip. Summary of the Invention

[0003] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including: a network layer unit located in the network layer and including a first interface; a link layer unit located in the data link layer and including at least a first bus unit and a second bus unit, where the first bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type, and the second bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a second protocol type; and a first multiplexing control unit configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively.

[0004] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first multiplexing control unit is coupled to the first interface, the first bus unit, and the second bus unit, and the first multiplexing control unit is configured to: obtain first configuration information; and select a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit according to the first configuration information, and couple the first target bus and the first interface.

[0005] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first multiplexing control unit is configured to receive downlink data information from the first interface, and obtain the first configuration information by parsing the downlink data information.

[0006] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link layer unit further includes a first interface controller configured to perform protocol conversion on data information exchanged between the first interface and the first bus unit, and the first bus unit is coupled to the first multiplexing control unit through the first interface controller.

[0007] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link layer unit further includes: an input-output controller configured to control the distribution of data information, and the first bus unit is coupled to the first interface controller through the input-output controller.

[0008] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link layer unit further includes a third bus unit, the network layer unit further includes a second interface, and the third bus unit is coupled to the second interface.

[0009] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the third bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type.

[0010] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the link layer unit further includes: a second interface controller, coupled to the second interface and the input / output controller, and configured to perform protocol conversion on the data information exchanged between the second interface and the third bus unit, and the third bus unit is coupled to the second interface controller through the input / output controller.

[0011] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first protocol type is the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) protocol, and the second protocol type is the Inter-Chip Interface (ICI) protocol.

[0012] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, it further includes: a physical layer unit located at the physical layer, the physical layer unit includes at least one physical layer interface; and a second multiplexing control unit, configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex at least one physical layer interface.

[0013] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one physical layer interface includes a first physical layer interface, the second multiplexing control unit is coupled to the first bus unit, the second bus unit, and the first physical layer interface, and the second multiplexing control unit is configured to: receive second configuration information; and according to the second configuration information, select a second target bus unit from the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and couple the second target bus unit to the first physical layer interface.

[0014] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one physical layer interface further includes a second physical layer interface, the link layer unit further includes a third bus unit, the second multiplexing control unit is further coupled to the third bus unit, and the second multiplexing control unit is further configured to: according to the configuration information, select two target bus units from the first bus unit, the second bus unit, and the third bus unit, and couple the two target bus units to the first physical layer interface and the second physical layer interface respectively.

[0015] For example, in the communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, each of at least one physical layer interface includes a serializer and a deserializer.

[0016] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, which includes the communication device provided in any embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method for a communication device. The communication device includes a network layer unit located at the network layer, a link layer unit located at the data link layer, and a first multiplexing control unit. The network layer unit includes a first interface, the link layer unit includes a first bus unit and a second bus unit. The first bus unit transmits data information of a first protocol type, and the second bus unit transmits data information of a second protocol type. The method includes: using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit on the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively.

[0018] For example, in the communication method provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure, using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit on the first interface includes: obtaining first configuration information; and according to the first configuration information, the first multiplexing control unit selects a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and couples the first target bus and the first interface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only relate to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not limit the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of a communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram of another communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0022] Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 The data path formed by the communication device provided by the shown embodiment;

[0023] Figure 4 Shows Figure 2 Another data path formed by the communication device provided by the shown embodiment;

[0024] Figure 5 Shows Figure 2 Another data path formed by the communication device provided by the shown embodiment;

[0025] Figure 6A A schematic diagram showing that the network layer interface of the communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is not multiplexed;

[0026] Figure 6B Shows Figure 6ASchematic diagram of the bandwidth requirements of interface P00 and interface P10 of the communication device in the illustrated embodiment;

[0027] Figure 6C Shows Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the bandwidth requirements after multiplexing of interface P21 of the communication device in the illustrated embodiment; and

[0028] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium provided by some embodiments of the present disclosure. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the described embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0030] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used in the present disclosure shall have the ordinary meanings understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains. The "first", "second" and similar terms used in the present disclosure do not denote any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, the terms such as "a", "an" or "the" do not denote a quantity limitation, but mean that there is at least one. The terms such as "including" or "comprising" mean that the elements or items appearing before this term cover the elements or items listed after this term and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or items. The terms such as "connected" or "coupled" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. The terms such as "upper", "lower", "left" and "right" are only used to represent relative positional relationships, and when the absolute position of the object being described changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0031] The birth of NOC is based on the need for increased processor scale. The theoretical system of NOC is derived from the theoretical research foundation of system-level interconnection. After nearly 20 years of development, NOC technology has become increasingly mature. Due to factors such as area, power consumption, on-chip storage resources, integration technology, and the limitation of the number of pins, NOC needs to comprehensively consider the limiting factors during design. The NOC interconnection draws on the hierarchical protocol concept of the system network, dividing the entire communication and design process into multiple levels according to different functional entities, thereby simplifying the correlation, simplifying the design, and improving the reusability of the design, etc. The early system network proposed the seven-layer protocol of OSI. With the development of technology, NOC interconnection generally adopts a five-layer protocol, namely the application layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer, and physical layer.

[0032] The application layer is usually responsible for the behaviors of the communication content agreed upon among on-chip components such as processor cores, caches, input / output (IO) interfaces, and memory controllers that need to communicate with each other, such as cache coherence protocols, non-coherence protocols, etc. The main communication types of the application layer include control information, data information, and response information, etc. The transport layer is responsible for message distribution, channel multiplexing, basic transport services, and processing the sending, receiving, and recombination of message segmentation, etc. The network layer is responsible for routing management, flow control management, storage management, etc. of data packets from the source end to the destination end. The data link layer is responsible for further dividing data packets into smaller segments such as frames, performing reliable transmission control from point to point on the link, data encoding and decoding, etc. The physical layer is responsible for transmitting the relevant bit stream between point to point on the physical medium.

[0033] It should be noted that in the on-chip network, all these network functions can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination of them.

[0034] For example, the network layer unit of the network layer includes multiple interfaces, and communicates with the data link layer unit of the data link layer through at least some of the multiple interfaces. For example, two interfaces communicate with different buses in the data link layer unit respectively. Since the effective bandwidths of different buses are different, the bandwidth requirements of these two interfaces are different. Therefore, the bandwidth requirements between different interfaces are prone to imbalance, which is not conducive to improving bandwidth utilization and further affects the performance of NOC.

[0035] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, including: a network layer unit located at the network layer and including a first interface; a link layer unit located at the data link layer and including at least a first bus unit and a second bus unit, where the first bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type, and the second bus unit is configured to transmit data information of a second protocol type; and a first multiplexing control unit configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively. For example, the communication device is used in, for example, a network on chip in a system on chip, thereby being able to effectively balance bandwidth requirements and improve bandwidth utilization.

[0036] Figure 1 The schematic block diagram of a communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] As Figure 1 shown, the communication device 100 includes a network layer unit 110, a link layer unit 120, and a multiplexing control unit 130. The network layer unit 110 is located at the network layer, and the link layer unit 120 is located at the data link layer. For example, the communication device 100 is used as a routing node in a network on chip (NOC), and this network on chip is used in, for example, a system on chip (chip).

[0038] The network layer unit 110 includes a first interface, which is labeled as interface P0. For example, the network layer unit 110 is responsible for routing management, flow control management, storage management, etc. of data packets from the source end to the destination end.

[0039] The link layer unit 120 includes a plurality of bus units, for example, at least including a bus unit 121 and a bus unit 122. The bus unit 121 is configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type, and the bus unit 122 is configured to transmit data information of a second protocol type. The bus unit 121 is an example of the first bus unit in the present disclosure, and the bus unit 122 is an example of the second bus unit in the present disclosure.

[0040] For example, the first protocol type may be a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIE) protocol, and the second protocol type may be an inter-chip interface protocol. For example, the inter-chip interface protocol may be a protocol customized by chip designers or a CXL (Compute Express Link) protocol, etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific examples of the first protocol type and the second protocol type.

[0041] For example, the link layer unit 120 is responsible for further dividing the data packets from the network layer into smaller segments such as frames, performing reliable transmission control for link point-to-point, data encoding and decoding, etc.

[0042] The multiplexing control unit 130 is an example of the first multiplexing control unit of the present disclosure. The multiplexing control unit 130 is configured to control the bus units 121 and 122 to multiplex the interface P0, so that the bus units 121 and 122 communicate with the network layer unit 110 through the interface P0 respectively.

[0043] The communication device 100 realizes the multiplexing of the interface P0 in the network layer unit 110 through the multiplexing control unit 130, which is convenient for effectively balancing the bandwidth requirements and improving the bandwidth utilization rate. For example, the network layer unit 110 further includes a second interface, which is labeled as interface P1. If the interface P1 communicates with multiple buses, resulting in a large bandwidth requirement for the interface P1 and a small bandwidth requirement for the interface P0, at least one of the multiple buses communicating with the interface P1 can communicate with the interface P0 through the multiplexing control unit 130, so as to balance the bandwidth requirements between the interfaces and improve the bandwidth utilization rate.

[0044] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, such as Figure 1 shown, the multiplexing control unit 130 is coupled to the interface P0, the bus unit 121, and the bus unit 122. For example, the multiplexing control unit 130 is coupled to the interface P0, the bus unit 121, and the bus unit 122 through different interaction interfaces (or interaction units) respectively.

[0045] The multiplexing control unit 130 is configured to obtain first configuration information, and according to the first configuration information, select a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and couple the first target bus and the first interface. The first target bus may be the first bus unit or the second bus unit.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, the multiplexing control unit 130 can be statically configured, so that the multiplexing control unit 130 obtains the first configuration information. For example, a designer pre-configures the register (not shown) of the multiplexing control unit 130, and the data written to the register can be used as the first configuration information. When the system-on-chip is started, the multiplexing control unit 130 selects the first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit according to the data in the register, and couples the first target bus and the first interface. During the communication process between the network layer unit and the link layer unit, the first target bus and the first interface always communicate without dynamic switching.

[0047] For example, in response to the data in the register being 1, the first bus unit is selected as the first target bus, and the first bus unit is connected to the first interface. In response to the data in the register being 0, the second bus unit is selected as the first target bus, and the second bus unit is connected to the first interface. For example, when the link layer unit 120 includes more bus units, the register of the multiplexing control unit 130 can use more bits to record the first configuration information.

[0048] The multiplexing control unit 130 coupling the first target bus and the first interface may be that the multiplexing control unit 130 connects the first interface to the MAC layer logic of the protocol to which the first target bus belongs. MAC is the media access control sublayer, which is mainly responsible for controlling and connecting the physical medium of the physical link layer. For example, if the first target bus is a PCIE protocol bus, the multiplexing control unit 130 connects the first interface to the MAC layer logic of the PCIE protocol bus.

[0049] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the multiplexing control unit 130 can be dynamically configured. For example, in response to receiving the downlink data information from the first interface, the multiplexing control unit 130 obtains the first configuration information by parsing the downlink data information, so that the multiplexing control unit 130 is configured according to the first configuration information.

[0050] For example, the multiplexing control unit 130 parses the downlink data information to obtain the destination bus information for transmitting the downlink data information, and the destination bus information is the first configuration information. For example, the destination bus information includes the protocol type of the destination bus. For example, if the protocol type of the destination bus is the PCIE protocol, the multiplexing control unit 130 couples the interface P0 to the bus for transmitting data conforming to the PCIE protocol. For another example, if the protocol type of the destination bus is the inter-chip interface protocol, the multiplexing control unit 130 couples the interface P0 to the bus for transmitting data conforming to the inter-chip interface protocol.

[0051] Figure 2 Fig. shows a schematic block diagram of another communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] As Figure 2 shown, in the communication device 200, the network layer unit 210 includes an interface P21 and an interface P22. The interface P21 is another example of the first interface in the present disclosure, and the interface P22 is another example of the second interface in the present disclosure. The link layer unit 220 includes a bus unit 221 and a bus unit 222. The bus unit 221 is another example of the first bus unit in the present disclosure, and the bus 222 is another example of the second bus unit in the present disclosure. The bus unit 221 is similar to the bus unit 121 described above, and the bus unit 222 is similar to the bus unit 122 described above.

[0053] AsFigure 2 As shown, the link layer unit 220 may further include a third bus unit, such as bus unit 223, and bus unit 223 is coupled to interface P22. In this embodiment, bus unit 221 is configured to transmit data information of the PCIE protocol, that is, bus unit 221 is a PCIE protocol bus, and bus unit 222 is configured to transmit data information of the inter-chip interface protocol, that is, bus unit 222 is an inter-chip interface protocol bus.

[0054] For example, bus unit 223 is configured to transmit data information of the first protocol type. In this embodiment, the first protocol type is the PCIE protocol, and bus unit 223 is a PCIE protocol bus.

[0055] As Figure 2 shown, in addition to including bus unit 221, bus unit 222, and bus unit 223, link layer unit 220 may further include a first interface controller 124, and the first interface controller is, for example, a NOC interface controller.

[0056] The first interface controller 124 is configured to perform protocol conversion on the data information exchanged between the first interface and the first bus unit. For example, bus unit 221 is coupled to the multiplexing control unit 230 through the first interface controller 124. For example, the data information transmitted by bus unit 221 is data conforming to the PCIE protocol, and the first interface controller 124 converts the data conforming to the PCIE protocol into data that interface P21 can recognize.

[0057] As Figure 2 shown, link layer unit 220 may further include an input / output controller 125. The input / output controller 125 is configured to control the distribution of data information, and bus unit 221 is coupled to the interface controller 124 through the input / output controller 125.

[0058] For example, the input / output controller 125 is responsible for distributing the data from the first interface controller 124 to bus unit 221 and bus unit 223, and is responsible for distributing the data from bus unit 221 and bus unit 223 to different interface controllers.

[0059] As Figure 2 shown, link layer unit 120 may further include a second interface controller 126. The second interface controller is, for example, a NOC interface controller. The second interface controller 126 is coupled to interface P1 and the input / output controller 125, and is configured to perform protocol conversion on the data information exchanged between interface P1 and bus unit 223. Bus unit 223 is coupled to the second interface controller through the input / output controller 125.

[0060] As Figure 2As shown, for example, both bus unit 221 and bus unit 223 are PCIE protocol buses, and bus unit 222 is an inter-chip interface protocol bus. Currently, the actual effective bandwidth of x16 PCIE5.0 is 57.6 GBps, and the actual effective bandwidth of the x16 inter-chip interface protocol is 45 GBps. x16 represents the number of channels of the bus. If both PCIE protocol buses are coupled to interface P1, it will result in a bandwidth requirement of 115.2 GBps for interface P1. Therefore, the bandwidth requirements of the network layer unit 110 interfaces are unbalanced, which is not conducive to improving the bandwidth utilization rate and further affects the NOC performance.

[0061] In the communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a multiplexing control unit is added (for example, Figure 1 the multiplexing control unit 130 in Figure 2 and the multiplexing control unit 230 in

[0062] As Figure 2 shown, interface P21 coupled to the inter-chip interface protocol bus is multiplexed as an interface for communicating with the PCIE protocol bus, so that bus unit 221 is coupled to multiplexing control unit 230 through input / output controller 125 and first interface controller 124, and thus coupled to interface P21, and bus unit 223 is coupled to interface P22 through input / output controller 125 and second interface controller 126, and thus reduces the bandwidth requirement of interface P22 to balance the bandwidth requirements.

[0063] It should be understood that the above takes the case where the bandwidth requirement of interface P22 for communicating with the PCIE protocol bus is high and the bandwidth requirement of interface P21 for communicating with the inter-chip interface protocol bus is low as an example to illustrate the communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. However, this is not a limitation to the present disclosure. The present disclosure can be applied to any scenario with unbalanced bandwidth requirements. For example, if the bandwidth requirement of interface P21 for communicating with the inter-chip interface protocol bus is high and the bandwidth requirement of interface P22 for communicating with the PCIE protocol bus is low, then interface P22 can be multiplexed as an interface for communicating with the PCIE protocol bus and an interface for communicating with the on-chip interface protocol bus.

[0064] Of course, the first bus unit and the second bus unit in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure are not limited to the PCIE protocol bus and the inter-chip interface protocol bus, and may also be other types of buses, such as the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus, etc.

[0065] In some other embodiments of the present disclosure, the communication device may further include a physical layer unit located at the physical layer and a second multiplexing control unit. The physical layer unit includes at least one physical layer interface, and the second multiplexing control unit is configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex at least one physical layer interface.

[0066] As Figure 2 shown, the communication device 200 may further include a physical layer unit 150 and a multiplexing control unit 140. The multiplexing control unit 140 is an example of the second multiplexing control unit of the present disclosure. As Figure 2 shown, the link layer 220 may further include a Physical Coding Sub-layer (PCS). The PCS communicates with bus units of various protocol types and the multiplexing control unit 140.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the physical layer unit includes at least one physical layer interface, and each physical layer interface includes a serializer and a deserializer.

[0068] For example, the physical layer unit includes a first physical layer interface. The first physical layer interface is, for example, the Figure 2 serializer and deserializer (SerDes) 151 in. As Figure 2 shown, the second multiplexing control unit (for example, the multiplexing control unit 140) is coupled to the bus unit 221, the bus unit 222, and the first physical layer interface (for example, the serializer and deserializer 151).

[0069] Again, for example, in addition to the first physical layer interface, the physical layer unit further includes a second physical layer interface. The second physical layer interface is, for example, the Figure 2 serializer and deserializer (SerDes) 152 in.

[0070] Although Figure 2It is shown that the physical layer unit 150 includes two serializer / deserializers, that is, two physical layer interfaces. However, it does not mean that the number of physical layer interfaces in the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can only be 2. In the communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of physical layer interfaces can be any number greater than or equal to 1. For example, the communication device includes 1 physical layer interface or multiple physical layer interfaces.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the same physical layer interface can be multiplexed by the first bus unit and the second bus unit. For example, the serializer / deserializer 151 can be multiplexed by the PCIE protocol bus and the inter-chip interface protocol bus, and the serializer / deserializer 152 can also be multiplexed by the PCIE protocol bus and the inter-chip interface protocol bus. That is, the serializer / deserializer 151 can be used as the physical layer interface of the PCIE protocol bus or the physical layer interface of the inter-chip interface protocol bus, and the serializer / deserializer 152 can be used as the physical layer interface of the inter-chip interface protocol bus or the physical layer interface of the PCIE protocol bus.

[0072] Physical layer multiplexing enables designers to flexibly integrate multiple protocols and electrical specifications in the communication device, and flexibly meet different requirements under different configurations of the communication device. The physical layer is applied to the link layer of multiple interface protocols, which can maximize the utilization of physical layer resources, and achieve the purpose of saving the area and power consumption of the system-on-chip when the communication device is used in the on-chip network of the system-on-chip.

[0073] The multiplexing control unit 140 is configured to receive the second configuration information, and according to the second configuration information, select the second target bus unit from the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and couple the second target bus unit to the first physical layer interface.

[0074] The second configuration information can be obtained through static configuration or dynamic configuration. Similar to the first configuration information described above, it will not be elaborated here.

[0075] For example, if the second configuration information indicates that the serializer / deserializer 151 is coupled to the bus unit 121, the second target bus unit is the bus unit 221.

[0076] For another example, if the second configuration information indicates that the serializer / deserializer 151 is coupled to the bus unit (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus) 222, the second target bus unit is the bus unit 222.

[0077] The link layer unit 220 further includes a third bus unit, such as bus unit 223, and the bus unit 223 is, for example, a PCIE protocol bus. The multiplexing control unit 140 is also coupled to the bus unit 223, and the multiplexing control unit 140 is further configured to select two target bus units from the bus unit 221, the bus unit 222, and the bus unit 223 according to the configuration information, and couple the two target bus units to the first physical layer interface and the second physical layer interface respectively.

[0078] For example, if the configuration information indicates that the serializer / deserializer 151 is coupled to the bus unit 221 and the serializer / deserializer 152 is coupled to the bus unit 222, the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the bus unit 221 to the serializer / deserializer 151 and couples the bus unit 222 to the serializer / deserializer 152, so that the serializer / deserializer 151 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 221 and the serializer / deserializer 152 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 222.

[0079] Combined with the following Figures 3 - 5 This specification describes various data paths formed by configuring the multiplexing control unit 130 and the multiplexing control unit 140. It should be understood that Figures 3 - 5 This is only an example of the data path formed by configuring the multiplexing control unit 130 and the multiplexing control unit 140 of the communication device 200, and those skilled in the art can configure the multiplexing control unit 130 and / or the multiplexing control unit 140 to obtain other data paths different from Figures 3 - 5 the data path shown.

[0080] Figure 3 It shows Figure 2 the data path formed by the communication device provided in the embodiment shown.

[0081] As Figure 3 shown, for example, after statically or dynamically configuring the multiplexing control unit 140, the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 152 to the bus unit 222 (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 223 (e.g., the PCIE protocol bus), so that the serializer / deserializer 152 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 222 (e.g., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and the serializer / deserializer 151 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus).

[0082] The interface P21 is multiplexed by the bus unit 222 and the bus unit 221 (e.g., the PCIE protocol bus). As Figure 3As shown, for example, after static or dynamic configuration of the multiplexing control unit 230, the interface P21 is coupled to the bus unit 222, enabling communication between the interface P21 and the bus unit 222.

[0083] As Figure 3 shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 152 to the bus unit 222 (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and the multiplexing control unit 230 couples the interface P0 to the bus unit 222, a data path A is formed among the serializer / deserializer 152, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 222, the multiplexing control unit 230, and the interface P21.

[0084] As Figure 3 shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and the bus unit 223 is coupled to the interface P22, a data path B is formed among the serializer / deserializer 151, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 223, the input / output controller 125, the second interface controller 126, and the interface P22.

[0085] Figure 4 shows Figure 2 Another data path formed by the communication device provided in the embodiment shown.

[0086] As Figure 4 shown, for example, after static or dynamic configuration of the multiplexing control unit 140, the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 222 (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and couples the serializer / deserializer 152 to the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus). Thus, the serializer / deserializer 151 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 222 (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and the serializer / deserializer 152 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus).

[0087] The interface P21 is multiplexed by the bus unit 222 and the bus unit 221 (e.g., the PCIE protocol bus). As Figure 4 shown, for example, after static or dynamic configuration of the multiplexing control unit 230, the interface P21 is coupled to the bus unit 222, enabling communication between the interface P21 and the bus unit 222.

[0088] As Figure 4As shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 222 (i.e., the inter-chip interface protocol bus), and the multiplexing control unit 230 couples the interface P21 to the bus unit 222, a data path C is formed among the serializer / deserializer 151, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 222, the multiplexing control unit 230, and the interface P21.

[0089] As Figure 4 shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 152 to the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and the bus unit 223 is coupled to the interface P22, a data path D is formed among the serializer / deserializer 152, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 223, the input / output controller 125, the second interface controller 126, and the interface P22.

[0090] Figure 5 shows Figure 2 Another data path formed by the communication device provided in the illustrated embodiment is shown.

[0091] As Figure 5 shown, for example, after statically or dynamically configuring the multiplexing control unit 140, the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 221 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and couples the serializer / deserializer 152 to the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), so that the serializer / deserializer 151 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 221 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and the serializer / deserializer 152 serves as the physical layer interface of the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus).

[0092] The interface P21 is multiplexed by the bus unit 222 and the bus unit 221 (e.g., the PCIE protocol bus). As Figure 5 shown, for example, after statically or dynamically configuring the multiplexing control unit 230, the interface P21 is coupled to the bus unit 221, enabling the interface P21 to communicate with the bus unit 221.

[0093] As Figure 5 shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer / deserializer 151 to the bus unit 221 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and the multiplexing control unit 230 couples the interface P21 to the bus unit 221, a data path E is formed among the serializer / deserializer 151, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 221, the multiplexing control unit 230, and the interface P21.

[0094] As Figure 5As shown, since the multiplexing control unit 140 couples the serializer and deserializer 152 to the bus unit 223 (i.e., the PCIE protocol bus), and the bus unit 223 is coupled to the interface P22, a data path F is formed among the serializer and deserializer 152, the multiplexing control unit 140, the bus unit 223, the input / output controller 125, the second interface controller 126, and the interface P22.

[0095] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the data paths are all two-way paths for data interaction between the interfaces of the network layer unit and the physical layer interfaces, rather than one-way paths. That is, data can be transmitted from the physical layer interface to the interface of the network layer unit through the upstream path, and can also be transmitted from the interface of the network layer unit to the physical layer interface through the downstream path. For example, the upstream path of the data path A is interface P21 - multiplexing control unit 230 - inter-chip connection interface protocol bus - multiplexing control unit 140 - serializer and deserializer 152, and the downstream path is serializer and deserializer 152 - multiplexing control unit 140 - inter-chip connection interface protocol bus - multiplexing control unit 230 - interface P21.

[0096] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure multiplexes the interfaces of the network layer of the network-on-chip, rather than just multiplexing the physical layer. The hardware overhead cost is small, which is beneficial to balancing the bandwidth requirements and effectively improving the bandwidth utilization rate. At least one embodiment of the present disclosure can meet the bandwidth requirements under various configurations, only by adding a small amount of circuitry, and has almost no impact on the area of the system-on-chip.

[0097] As the scale of server chips is getting larger and larger, the demand for IO is also increasing day by day. The same chip will have multiple different configurations to meet different requirements under various application scenarios. Under different configurations, the demand for IO is also different. As the number of IOs increases and the IO speed gets higher, the size of the physical layer has an increasing impact on the area of the SOC, and it is necessary to consider multiplexing the physical layer under different configurations to avoid waste of PHY. This method of multiplexing at the physical layer has unbalanced bandwidth requirements, is not conducive to improving the bandwidth utilization rate, and affects the performance of the NOC.

[0098] Figure 6A The figure shows a schematic diagram of the network layer interface of the communication device provided by at least one embodiment of the present disclosure not being multiplexed. For example, Figure 6A The embodiment based on Figure 2 The embodiment shown.

[0099] As Figure 6AAs shown, for example, by reusing the configuration of the multiplexing control unit 610, the serializer and deserializer 651 serve as the physical layer interface of the inter-chip interconnect protocol bus, and the serializer and deserializer 652 serve as the physical layer interfaces of the PCIE protocol buses 621 and 623. None of the interfaces in the network layer unit implement multiplexing. Interface P00 is used to communicate with the inter-chip interconnect protocol bus, and interface P10 is used to communicate with the PCIE protocol bus. Since interface P10 communicates with the PCIE protocol buses 621 and 623, and the actual effective bandwidth of x16 PCIE 5.0 is 57.6 GBps, the bandwidth requirement of interface P10 is 115.2 GBps, while the actual effective bandwidth of the x16 inter-chip interconnect protocol is 45 GBps. Therefore, the actual effective bandwidth of interface P00 is 45 GBps.

[0100] Figure 6B shows Figure 6A A schematic diagram of the bandwidth requirements of interface P00 and interface P10 of the communication device in the embodiment shown. As Figure 6B shown, the bandwidth requirement of interface P10 is 115.2 GBps, and the actual effective bandwidth of interface P00 is 45 GBps. Therefore, the bandwidth requirements of interface P10 and interface P00 are unbalanced, resulting in a waste of bandwidth resources.

[0101] Figure 6C shows Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the bandwidth requirements after interface P21 of the communication device in the embodiment shown is multiplexed. As Figure 6C shown, the bandwidth requirements of both interface P21 and interface P22 are 57.6 Gbps. After multiplexing the network layer of the communication device, for example, forming Figures 3 - 5 any one of the data paths in the embodiment, the bandwidth requirements of P21 and P22 are both 57.6 Gbps. Compared with the bandwidth requirement of interface P10 being 115.2 GBps and the actual effective bandwidth of interface P00 being 45 GBps, Figures 3 - 5 the three configured bandwidth requirements are significantly reduced and more balanced, which is beneficial to improving the NOC performance.

[0102] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, including the communication device in any of the above embodiments. For example, the electronic device can be a system-on-chip or other devices involving network communication protocols. This electronic device can balance the bandwidth requirements of the network layer interfaces and effectively improve the bandwidth utilization rate. For the communication device in the electronic device, please refer to the description of the above embodiments.

[0103] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method for a communication device. The communication device includes a network layer unit located at the network layer, a link layer unit located at the data link layer, and a first multiplexing control unit. The network layer unit includes a first interface, the link layer unit includes a first bus unit and a second bus unit. The first bus unit transmits data information of a first protocol type, and the second bus unit transmits data information of a second protocol type. For a specific description of the communication device, please refer to any of the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated here. The communication method includes: using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit on the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively.

[0104] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit on the first interface includes: obtaining first configuration information; and according to the first configuration information, the first multiplexing control unit selects a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and couples the first target bus and the first interface.

[0105] The communication method of the communication device can balance the bandwidth requirements of the network layer interface and effectively improve the bandwidth utilization rate.

[0106] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the link layer unit further includes a first interface controller configured to perform protocol conversion on the data information exchanged between the first interface and the first bus unit. The first bus unit is coupled to the first multiplexing control unit through the first interface controller.

[0107] For example, the first bus unit is a PCIE protocol bus, and the first interface controller is a NOC interface controller. For example, the NOC interface controller performs protocol conversion on the data information from the bus unit, converts the data information into a protocol format recognizable by the first interface, or the NOC interface controller converts the data information from the first interface into a protocol format supported by the first bus unit.

[0108] For example, the link layer unit further includes: an input / output controller configured to control the distribution of data information. The first bus unit is coupled to the first interface controller through the input / output controller.

[0109] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first protocol type is a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) protocol, and the second protocol type is an Inter-Chip Interface (ICI) protocol.

[0110] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing non-transitory computer-readable instructions, which can implement at least some steps of the above communication method when executed by a processor.

[0111] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of a computer-readable storage medium provided for some embodiments of the present disclosure. As Figure 7 shown, the computer-readable storage medium 700 is used to store non-transitory computer-readable instructions 710. For example, when the non-transitory computer-readable instructions 710 are executed by a processor, one or more steps in the communication method of the communication device described above can be executed. For example, the computer-readable storage medium 700 can be applied to the communication device 200.

[0112] The following points need to be noted:

[0113] (1) The accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present disclosure only relate to the structures involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and other structures can refer to the general design.

[0114] (2) Without conflict, the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other to obtain new embodiments.

[0115] As described above, it is only the specific implementation manner of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication device, comprising: a network layer unit, located at the network layer and including a first interface and a second interface; a link layer unit, located at the data link layer and including at least a first bus unit and a second bus unit, the first bus unit being configured to transmit data information of a first protocol type through the second interface, and the second bus unit being configured to transmit data information of a second protocol type through the first interface; and a first multiplexing control unit, configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively.

2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, the first multiplexing control unit is coupled to the first interface, the first bus unit and the second bus unit, and the first multiplexing control unit is configured to: obtain first configuration information; and select a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit according to the first configuration information, and couple the first target bus and the first interface.

3. The communication device according to claim 2, wherein, the first multiplexing control unit is configured to receive downlink data information from the first interface, and obtain the first configuration information by parsing the downlink data information.

4. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, the link layer unit further includes: a first interface controller, configured to perform protocol conversion on data information exchanged between the first interface and the first bus unit, wherein the first bus unit is coupled to the first multiplexing control unit through the first interface controller.

5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein, the link layer unit further includes: an input / output controller, configured to control the distribution of data information between the first interface controller and the first bus unit, wherein the first bus unit is coupled to the first interface controller through the input / output controller.

6. The communication device according to claim 5, wherein, the link layer unit further includes a third bus unit, and the third bus unit is coupled to the second interface.

7. The communication device according to claim 6, wherein, the third bus unit is configured to transmit data information of the first protocol type.

8. The communication device according to claim 7, wherein, the link layer unit further includes: a second interface controller, coupled to the second interface and the input / output controller, and configured to perform protocol conversion on data information exchanged between the second interface and the third bus unit, wherein the third bus unit is coupled to the second interface controller through the input / output controller, and the input / output controller is further configured to control the distribution of data information between the second interface controller and the third bus unit.

9. The communication device according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein, the first protocol type is a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) protocol, and the second protocol type is an Inter-Chip Interface (ICI) protocol.

10. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: a physical layer unit located at the physical layer, wherein the physical layer unit includes at least one physical layer interface; and a second multiplexing control unit configured to control the first bus unit and the second bus unit to multiplex the at least one physical layer interface.

11. The communication device according to claim 10, wherein, the at least one physical layer interface includes a first physical layer interface, the second multiplexing control unit is coupled to the first bus unit, the second bus unit, and the first physical layer interface, the second multiplexing control unit is configured to: receive second configuration information; and select a second target bus unit from the first bus unit and the second bus unit according to the second configuration information, and couple the second target bus unit to the first physical layer interface.

12. The communication device according to claim 11, wherein, the at least one physical layer interface further includes a second physical layer interface, the link layer unit further includes a third bus unit, the second multiplexing control unit is further coupled to the third bus unit, the second multiplexing control unit is further configured to: select two target bus units from the first bus unit, the second bus unit, and the third bus unit according to the configuration information, and couple the two target bus units to the first physical layer interface and the second physical layer interface respectively.

13. The communication device according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein, each of the at least one physical layer interface includes a serializer and a deserializer.

14. An electronic device, comprising the communication device according to any one of claims 1-13.

15. A communication method of a communication device, wherein, the communication device includes a network layer unit located at the network layer, a link layer unit located at the data link layer, and a first multiplexing control unit, the network layer unit includes a first interface and a second interface, the link layer unit includes a first bus unit and a second bus unit, the first bus unit transmits data information of a first protocol type through the second interface, and the second bus unit transmits data information of a second protocol type through the first interface, the method includes: using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit with the first interface, so that the first bus unit and the second bus unit communicate with the network layer unit through the first interface respectively.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, using the first multiplexing control unit to multiplex the first bus unit and the second bus unit with the first interface includes: acquiring first configuration information; and selecting a first target bus from the first bus unit and the second bus unit according to the first configuration information by the first multiplexing control unit, and coupling the first target bus and the first interface.

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