SCALEABLE WORMHOLE-ROUTING CONCENTRATOR

摘要

An interconnect structure (100) substantially improves operation of an information concentrator (700) 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 (112) 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.