Network-on-Chip (NoC) Product Offerings
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Parameterizable Non-Cache Coherent NoCs through Generator
Cache Coherent Designs
Parameterizable Cache Coherent NoCs through Generator
Learn the Advantages of GMT Network-on-Chip
The GMT NoC Advantage
GMT can achieve ultra-low power results for NoC designs using its Relative Timing technology and methodology. The following is a list of design techniques and methods that – when added together – allow GMT to implement better NoC designs.
Design Simplicity.
GMT’s design approach minimizes complexity and maximizes simplicity. An example can be seen with the NoC design and architecture seen to the right. Each router provides a simple low overhead crossbar, which enables low power consumption for simple tasks such as forwarding packets across routers. The architecture’s logic buffering is efficient, minimizing the buffering required and leading to lower power, better latency, and smaller area.
Handshake Communication.
GMT NoCs rely on handshakes for communication and transfer of data. GMT leverages its patented protocol that removes the need for credit-based logic that other systems require. The use of handshakes allows messages to be exchanged at any time when the sender and receiver are ready and only when there is data to be exchanged. This allows for perfect clock gating and results in a more energy efficient exchange of data.
Router Arbitration.
GMT NoC routers have local arbitration. Local arbitration serializes incoming channels, and results in arbitration that is fast and fair (averaging 2-6 gate delays). The design can be pipelined for various frequencies.
Communication Protocol.
GMT has a patented communication protocol called Source Asynchronous Signaling (SAS) that has three key benefits to NoC designs. First, it removes the need for adding flop repeaters between router-to-router communication. Second, the protocol tracks credits as it buffers, which reduces logic overhead for credit-based implementations. Third, there is no requirement for synchronizing a clock signal between routers. The figure to the left depicts a more traditional approach to network communication (top), as well as GMT’s patented SAS approach to network communication (bottom).
Ease of Timing Closure.
GMT’s RT-based design simplifies timing closure of complex SoCs. There are no clock distribution constraints between modules, and timing closure is a local evaluation between interfaces that need be performed only once. This considerably improves modularity and ease of implementation of large systems containing many modules and system-level timing closure effort.
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