Staggered island structure in an island-based network flow processor
US8930872B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 17, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jan 6, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 13, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L12/56
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An island-based network flow processor (IB-NFP) integrated circuit includes rectangular islands disposed in rows. In one example, the configurable mesh data bus is configurable to form a command/push/pull data bus over which multiple transactions can occur simultaneously on different parts of the integrated circuit. The rectangular islands of one row are oriented in staggered relation with respect to the rectangular islands of the next row. The left and right edges of islands in a row align with left and right edges of islands two rows down in the row structure. The data bus involves multiple meshes. In each mesh, the island has a centrally located crossbar switch and six radiating half links, and half links down to functional circuitry of the island. The staggered orientation of the islands, and the structure of the half links, allows half links of adjacent islands to align with one another.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.