Cellular Automata based Degree Priority Routing Algorithm for Irregular Mesh Topology NOCs

mesh topologies are used nowadays in NOCs due to the variation in the size & shape of IP modules integrated on a SOC. Irregular topology presents problems of routing, as eachnode may differ in their degree. Degree priority routing algorithms have already been proposed, which enables fast and dynamic routing. In this paper an improvement on the existing Degree priority routing (DPR) algorithm is proposed, by introducing Cellular Automata based neighborhood into the picture. The proposed technique enables each node to retain the degree information of its 4 neighbors (in a Cellular automata based Von Neumann neighborhood)and serves as a 'one node' hub to decide on the next best node to route the message to. This way a considerable amount of time is saved on DPR algorithms to route the message to the next best node with the optimal degree.