Take the Highway: Design for Embedded NoCs on FPGAs

We explore the addition of a fast embedded network-on-chip (NoC) to augment the FPGA's existing wires and switches, and help interconnect large applications. A flexible interface between the FPGA fabric and the embedded NoC allows modules of varying widths and frequencies to transport data over the NoC. We study both latency-insensitive and latency-sensitive design styles and present the constraints for implementing each type of communication on the embedded NoC. Our application case study with image compression shows that an embedded NoC improves frequency by 10-80%, reduces utilization of scarce long wires by 40% and makes design easier and more predictable. Additionally, we leverage the embedded NoC in creating a programmable Ethernet switch that can support up to 819 Gb/s on FPGAs.