Abstract
Networks of workstations are becoming increasingly popular as a cost-effective alternative to parallel computers. Typically, these networks connect pro- cessors using irregular topologies, providing the wiring flexibility, scalability and incremental expansion capability required in this environment. Recently, we pro- posed a design methodology as well as fully adaptive routing algorithms for irreg- ular topologies. These algorithms increase throughput considerably with respect to previously existing ones but require the use of virtual channels.
In this paper we propose a very efficient flow control mechanism to support virtual channels when link wires are very long, and/or have different lengths. This flow control mechanism relies on the use of channel pipelining and control flits. Control traffic is minimized by assigning physical bandwidth to virtual channels until the corresponding message blocks or it is completely transmitted. Simulations show that the resulting flow control protocol performs almost as efficiently as an ideal network with short wires and flit-by-flit multiplexing.
This work was supported by the Spanish CICYT under Grant TIC94-0510-C02-01
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Silla, F., Duato, J. (1998). On the Use of Virtual Channels in Networks of Workstations with Irregular Topology. In: Yalamanchili, S., Duato, J. (eds) Parallel Computer Routing and Communication. PCRCW 1997. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 1417. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-69352-1_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-69352-1_18
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