Network on a chip

• Centrality
• Group centrality
• Degree
• Motif
• Clustering
• Degree distribution
• Assortativity
• Distance
• Modularity
• Efficiency

• Topics
• Software
• Network scientists

A network on a chip, or network on chip (NoC or ), is a network-based communications subsystem on an integrated circuit (chip), most typically between modules in a system on chip (SoC). The modules on the IC are typically semiconductor IP cores schematizing various functions of the computer system, and are designed to be modular in the sense of network science. The network on chip is a router-based packet switching network between SoC modules.

NoC technology applies the theory and methods of computer networking to on-chip communication and brings notable improvements over conventional bus and crossbar communication architectures.

In the 2000s, researchers had started to propose a type of on-chip interconnection in the form of packet switching networks in order to address the scalability issues of bus-based design. Preceding researchers proposed a design that routes data packets instead of routing the wires. Then, the concept of "networks on chip" was proposed in 2002. NoCs improve the scalability of systems-on-chip and the power efficiency of complex SoCs compared to other communication subsystem designs. They are an emerging technology, with projections for large growth in the near future as multicore computer architectures become more common.