An efficient interconnection network for large-scale computer communications applications

Abstract

This paper presents a new class of interconnection network architectures called hierarchical Manhattan-street network (H-MSN). The proposed network can be used in large-scale computer communication systems. The H-MSN combines useful features of the Manhattan-street network and hierarchical networks and is constructed recursively and hierarchically using a basic building block network. The lowest-level node of this network has a simple structure and is easy to implement. Unlike a typical interconnection network that uses a higher node degree to maintain a small network diameter as the networks grow, the H-MSN has a good capability of expandability with convenient fault tolerance and routing. Our simulation and analysis show that the H-MSN performs comparably to some currently used networks at a much lower cost, even when a larger network is used. This paper also presents the detailed node structure, diameter and performance cost analysis, and fault tolerance of the proposed network. It is shown how much penalty in the network diameter should be sustained if a network component fails.