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Multi-layer switch network?

Hi all,

I am reading a article. It mentions "multi-layer switching networks including, e.g. omega(perfect shuffle)/delta networks, log shifter networks, etc.".

But why not use single-layer instead of multi-layer switch network?

I know simple barrel shifter. What's omega, delta and log shifter?

Any suggestions will be appreciated! Best regards, Davy

Reply to
Davy
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Davy schrieb:

A very abstract answer: I a single layer network every input connects to N other pins. These everage wire length for each input is at least proportional to (n*sqrt(n)), same for the capacitance. Therefor the bandwidth is reciprocal to n^3, the latency is proportional to n^3.

The other extreme is a tree of 2-way switches. Each path has log(n) switches. Each connection has 2 pins. The area is n^2 (n*log(n) is only true for unbounded number of rounting layers). The average wire length is n. The bandwidth is constant, the latency is proportional to log(n).

Of course the latency of the switch will have a larger constant value than the wire. But the difference between log and n^3 is extreme, so the break even point will be for rather small n.

Kolja Sulimma

Reply to
Kolja Sulimma

Hi Kolja,

Thank you for your help :-) But it seems it is hard to understand the idea.

May you please direct me to some reference paper/article about this subject?

Best regards, Davy

Reply to
Davy

Could you give me the reference of your paper, please?

Eric

Reply to
nospam.eric

Kolja> A very abstract answer:

I see some more issues.

Some switches are entirely on a single chip. I've heard of folks implementing these as multi-layer switches. Perhaps if something specific about the switching pattern is known, that may make sense. (e.g. it's a 64-bit shifter, implemented as 3 layers of 4-way muxes). Or perhaps when latency does not matter. But when latency matters, a full crossbar, implemented on a single chip, seems quite reasonable to me, even for e.g. 64 16-bit ports. My reasoning is that it's not the

64 64-way 16bit muxes that's going to chew up the area, it's the buffering and scheduling. And a full crossbar should have fewer scheduling issues than a multi-layer switch.

Once your switch is distributed across more than one chip, you have a very different problem. The wires between chips cost so much more than the wires on chip ($0.02 each versus $0.00001 each) that you can't afford to stall a board wire due to contention for a chip wire.

I'm currently quite enamoured with the load-balanced switch idea. (Previously I was enamoured with the Tiny Tera design, both have come from Nick McKeown's group at Stanford.) The nice thing about a load-balanced switch is that the switch fabric itself can be a shifter, or pair of shifters, which is a *lot* easier to implement. I think a load balanced switch implemented on a single chip is an interesting idea, that may have already been implemented as part of a shared memory switch.

Reply to
Iain McClatchie

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