Performance Evaluation of Mesh, Spidergon, and Mesh of Spidergon (MoS) Topologies in Network on Chip (NoC) Architectures

Abstract

Network-on-chip (NoC) is essential for efficient data transmission in system-on-chip (SoC) architectures, particularly as modern integrated circuits (ICs) become increasingly complex. The choice of topology significantly impacts the performance, throughput, and latency of NoC designs. Traditional topologies, such as Mesh and Spidergon, offer unique benefits and limitations. This study introduces a new topology, Mesh of Spidergon (MoS), which integrates the local connectivity advantages of Mesh with the global routing efficiency of Spidergon. We evaluate the network diameter and average distance of the Mesh, Spidergon, and MoS topologies. The assessment focuses on throughput and latency using Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) applications, specifically analyzing File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Constant Bit Rate (CBR) traffic patterns under varying link failure rates of 5%, 10%, and 15%. Results show that the MoS topology achieves a throughput of 26.96 Mbps, surpassing Mesh’s 12.68 Mbps and Spidergon’s 23.51 Mbps using FTP protocol. For the CBR protocol, MoS reaches 34 Mbps, compared to 12.68 Mbps for Mesh and 25.23 Mbps for Spidergon, while maintaining comparable latency to Spidergon at 2.37 ms, whereas Mesh exhibits higher latency with 3.78 ms. Furthermore, MoS demonstrates enhanced resilience under link failures. Overall, the MoS topology significantly improves NoC performance, merging the strengths of existing topologies and offering a viable solution for future SoC designs.