NoC Request Aggregation for Reducing Duplicate Link Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing network-on-chip (NoC) systems inefficiently handle multiple identical requests from initiators to a target, leading to serialized responses that occupy interconnect links multiple times, increasing operation time.
Innovation Solution
Implementing request aggregators (RAs) in the NoC to aggregate identical requests into a single request, which is sent to the target, and duplicate the response back to each initiator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple identical requests are serialized and sent individually to the target through the NoC, then each request can be processed in strict request/response semantic order, but the operation time increases significantly and interconnect links are occupied multiple times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple identical requests into a single aggregated request before transmission through the NoC. The aggregator detects identical requests from multiple initiators and combines them into one request transaction, which is then processed by the target. This eliminates redundant transmissions while maintaining proper request/response semantics through the use of transaction identifiers that track original requests.
2Reliability
If multiple identical requests are sent individually to the target, then each initiator receives its response in order, but the same response occupies the interconnect links multiple times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple identical response transactions into a single response transmission. The aggregator receives one response from the target and redistributes it to all original initiators using their transaction identifiers. This merging approach dramatically reduces interconnect link occupancy while ensuring each initiator receives its response in the correct order.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates copies of the single aggregated response and distributes them to multiple initiators based on their original transaction identifiers. Instead of transmitting the same response data multiple times through the interconnect, the system generates logical copies for distribution, reducing energy consumption and link usage while maintaining proper delivery semantics.
3Reliability
If the NoC treats all requests as unicast with strict request/response semantics, then protocol compliance is maintained, but identical requests cannot be aggregated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an aggregator as an intermediary component between initiators and the target. This intermediary intercepts requests, identifies identical ones, and aggregates them before forwarding to the target. The aggregator maintains protocol compliance by using standard transaction identifiers and address structures, while enabling aggregation functionality that improves throughput without violating the underlying protocol semantics.
Data Source
AI summary
System and methods are disclosed for aggregating requests sent from multiple initiators to the same target through a network-on-chip (NoC). The requests are marked for aggregation. The NoC uses request aggregators (RA) as an aggregation point to aggregate the identical requests that are marked for aggregation. At the aggregation point, the identical requests are reduced to a single request. The single request is sent to the target. The process is repeated in a cascaded fashion through the NoC, possibly involving multiple request aggregators. When a response transaction is received back from the target, which is at the aggregation point closest to the target, the response transaction is duplicated and sent to every original requester, either directly or through other request aggregators, which further duplicate the already duplicated response transaction.