Principles and Practices of Interconnection Networks

CHAPTER 3

Topology Basics

Network topology refers to the static arrangement of channels and nodes in an inter-

connection network — the roads over which packets travel. Selecting the network

topology is the first step in designing a network because the routing strategy and

flow-control method depend heavily on the topology. A roadmap is needed before

a route can be selected and the traversal of that route scheduled. As illustrated by

the example in Chapter 2, the topology specifies not just the type of network (for

example, butterfly), but also the details, such as the radix of the switch, the number

of stages, and the width and bit-rate of each channel. ...