MNoC : A Network on Chip for Monitors

• Main Author: Madduri, Sailaja
• Format: Others
• Published: ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst 2008
• Subjects: Networks on chip; Multi-cores; Thermal management; Voltage droop management; Real-time monitors; Scalable interconnects; Electrical engineering
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/215; https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=theses

As silicon processes scale, system-on-chips (SoCs) will require numerous hardware monitors that perform assessment of physical characteristics that change during the operation of a device. To address the need for high-speed and coordinated transport of monitor data in a SoC, we develop a new interconnection network for monitors - the monitor network on chip (MNoC). Data collected from the monitors via MNoC is collated by a monitor executive processor (MEP) that controls the operation of the SoC in response to monitor data. In this thesis, we developed the architecture of MNoC and the infrastructure to evaluate its performance and overhead for various network parameters. A system level architectural simulation can then be performed to ensure that the latency and bandwidth provided by MNoC are sufficient to allow the MEP to react in a timely fashion. This typically translates to a system level benefit that can be assessed using architectural simulation. We demonstrate in this thesis, the employment of MNoC for two specific monitoring systems that involve thermal and delay monitors. Results show that MNoC facilitates employment of a thermal-aware dynamic frequency scaling scheme in a multicore processor resulting in improved performance. It also facilitates power and performance savings in a delay -monitored multicore system by enabling a better than worst case voltage and frequency settings for the processor.