US 6,687,253 B1 · Scaleable wormhole-routing concentrator

Abstract

An interconnect structure substantially improves operation of an information concentrator through usage of single-bit routing through control cells using a control signal. The interconnect structure and operating technique support wormhole routing and flow of messages. Message packets are always buffered within the structure and never discarded, so that any packet that enters the structure is guaranteed to exit. In one example, the interconnect structure includes a ribbon of interconnect lines connecting a plurality of nodes in nonintersecting paths. The ribbon of interconnect lines winds through a plurality of levels from the source level to the destination level. The number of turns of a winding decreases from the source level to the destination level. The interconnect structure further includes a plurality of columns formed by interconnect lines coupling the nodes across the ribbon in cross-section through the windings of the levels.

Claims28

Dependent claims

An interconnect structure comprising:

a plurality of data transmission lines;
and
a plurality of nodes arranged on the plurality of data transmission lines;
the data transmission lines having a plurality of nodes for data entry from outside of the interconnect structure;
the data transmission lines having a data exit end allowing data to exit the system;
and
the plurality of nodes including nodes A, B, and X, and the plurality of data transmission lines including lines L1, and L2, the node A on the line L1 being capable of transmitting data to the node B, an immediate successor to node A on line L1, and the node A being capable of transmitting data to the node X on the data transmission line L2, the distance from node X to the data exit end of transmission line L2 being less than the distance from node B to the data exit end of transmission line L1.

4 more elements

An interconnect structure comprising:

a plurality of nodes arranged in a structure including:
an hierarchy of levels from a source level to a destination level;
a plurality of nodes in nonintersecting paths extending along the levels;
and
a plurality of nodes in a cross-section of the nonintersecting paths of the levels, the number of nodes in a cross-section of the source level being greater than the number of nodes in a cross-section of the destination level so that the interconnect structure is a concentrator, the level of a node being determined entirely by the position of the node in the structure;
and
a plurality of interconnect lines coupling the nodes in the structure including for a node N on a pathway P of a level L including:
a message input interconnect line coupled to a first adjacent node on the pathway P of the level L;
a message output interconnect line coupled to a second adjacent node on the pathway P of the level L;
at least one message interconnect line coupled to one or more nodes sourceward of the node N for receiving data from a node sourceward in the hierarchy, and/or coupled to one or more nodes destinationward of the node N for sending messages from a node destinationward in the hierarchy;
and
at least one control interconnect line coupled to a node sourceward of the node N for sending a control signal to the sourceward node, and/or coupled to a node destinationward of the node N for receiving a control signal from the destinationward node.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Scaleable wormhole-routing concentrator

Life of this patent

Scaleable wormhole-routing concentrator

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims28