High-Performance Heterogeneous Interprocessor Communications

Objective

The objective of the OMI/HIC project is to provide low-cost, high-performance serial interconnect for the OMI. It will develop technologies to provide a range of cost/performance tradeoffs within a common protocol framework, at moderate distance scales, ie chip-to-chip, board-to-board, rack-to-rack and room-to-room. Target performance levels are 200 Mbaud, 700 Mbaud to 1 Gbaud, and 2-3 Gbaud.
The design of a higher speed digital signal (DS) link is nearly complete. Prototype complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) driver and receiver circuits for optical interconnect are being tested. A CMOS chip has been developed to provide a parallel interface to a 1 Gbaud serial link, with built in support for the lower levels of the protocol stack. A test chip has demonstrated feasibility of 3 GBaud in a bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS) device. A design study for a high-performance routing chip with advanced features has been done. A book has been published about DS-Links and their applications, and the protocols developed within the project are the basis for a draft IEEE standard, p1355.
The project aims to:

- double the performance of INMOS DS-Links to 200 Mbaud, and provide drivers/receivers for fibre optic interconnect at these speeds (using an encoding developed in the GPMIMD project)
- develop 1 Gbaud serial link technology, implemented in 0.5 micron CMOS, with protocols conforming to the OMI high-level interconnect standard
- evaluate BiCMOS as a technology for 2-3 Gbaud serial links on copper media and provide drivers/receivers for fibre optic interconnect at 1 Gbaud
- provide macrocells supporting the serial link technologies to the ELI library standards
- develop routing and interfacing chips based on serial link technology
- demonstrate use of the serial links on at least two different processor architectures
- demonstrate use of the serial links as a transport mechanism for SCI (IEEE 1596) protocols.

Fields of science

• natural sciences › chemical sciences › inorganic chemistry › inorganic compounds
• natural sciences › physical sciences › electromagnetism and electronics › semiconductivity

Programme(s)

• FP3-ESPRIT 3 - Specific research and technological development programme (EEC) in the field of information technologies, 1990-1994

Topic(s)

Data not available

Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

Data not available

Coordinator

Inmos Ltd

Address

1,000 Aztec West
BS12 4SQ Almondsbury
United Kingdom

Participants (6)

Bull Italia SpA

Italy

Address

Via Dei Laboratori Olivetti 79
20010 Pregnana Milanese Milano

Bull SA

France

Address

Tour Bull 1 Place Carpeaux Puteaux
92039 Paris La Défense

DOLPHIN SERVER TECHNOLOGY

Norway

Address

Olaf Helsets Vei, 652
0621 Oslo

THOMSON CSF SINTRA-ASM

France

Address

525 Route Des Dolines
06561 Valbonne

Thomson CSF

France

Address

51 Esplanade Du Général De Gaulle
92045 Paris La Défense

Université de Paris VI (Université Pierre et Marie Curie)

France

Address

4 Place Jussieu
75005 Paris