Creating a highly reliable modified gamma interconnection network using a balance approach

An interconnection network with redundant paths is desirable for high-performance multiprocessor systems owing to its ability to tolerate faults by routing requests through alternative paths. The gamma interconnection network (GIN) provides a unique path from any source (S) to a destination (D) when S equals D and the multiple paths between certain (S, D) pairs share a single common route for many stages, yielding unsatisfactory terminal reliability. To enhance the terminal reliability of the GIN, a modified GIN is proposed, the Balanced GIN (BGIN), whose connecting patterns between stages exhibit a balance feature. Due to the unique balance feature of its connecting patterns, the BGIN is able to provide multiple disjoint paths between any communication pair and thus can tolerate any arbitrary single fault. Without increasing hardware complexity or degrading performance, the BGIN demonstrates enhanced terminal reliability when compared with other modified GINs