We propose a new prioritized demand multiplexing (PDM) scheme forwormhole networks. Conventional demand multiplexing allows a set ofready flits to share a physical link in a strict round robin mannerThus, it does not allow flexibility for fast movement of high prioritymessages. The proposed PDM scheme allows a virtual channel, containingflits of a high priority message, to use its associated physical channelfor multiple number of successive clock cycles. We present motivationbehind the proposed PDM scheme, description of the scheme, andimplementation issues. The study suggests that allowing a virtualchannel with a high priority message to use 2 successive clock cycles issufficient to provide up to 35% reduction in latency for high prioritymessages. The results demonstrate significant potential for designinghigh performance wormhole systems to support efficient implementation ofapplications with hybrid traffic characteristics
展开▼
