A Software Defined Interconnection Architecture for Systems on Chip.

Abstract

On-Chip interconnections are a key component in terms of performance for Systems-on Chip (SoCs). Traditionally, buses and crossbar approaches are the designer’s first choice. However, due to performance and hardware complexity limitations in complex systems, respectively bus and crossbar are replaced by routers in a Network-onChip approach. However, these interconnections do not adapt to requirements imposed by the SoC applications. Therefore, a flexible approach is needed. Software Defined Networking (SDN) principles bring the desired capabilities to traditional computer networks. In this paper, we propose a Software Defined Interconnection architecture based in SDN principles, and give to SoC interconnects the required flexibility and programmability in modern SoC designs.