Reliability on Top of Best Effort Delivery: Maximal Connectivity Test on NoC Interconnects

Abstract

A scalable, packet address driven strategy that tests an open fault on network-on-chip (NoC) interconnects and maximal connectivity between neighbor routers in presence of a short fault is proposed. The open faults and maximal connectivity are tested for data, control, and handshake interconnects by the proposed method using finite test sequence. Experiments ensure the state of faultiness/non-faultiness of an interconnect with/without an open fault and possibility of connectivity over faulty interconnects for a channel. Evaluation is done in terms of test time, testing criteria, and performance metrics. Results achieve 100% test and fault coverages when interconnects possess open faults only but nearly 100% when shorts are injected on faulty interconnects to make connectivity.