On-Chip Communication Architectures

Chapter 3. On-Chip Communication Architecture Standards

System-on-chip (SoC) designs typically have several different types of components such as processors, memories, custom hardware, peripherals, and external interface IP (intellectual property) blocks that need to communicate with each other. In SoC design houses, some of these components might be designed from scratch, while others are reused from previous designs or procured from external IP vendors. Each of these components has an interface to the outside world consisting of a set of pins that are responsible for sending/receiving addresses, data, and control information to/from other components. The choice of pins at the interface is governed by the particular bus protocol of the communication ...