GANNoC: A Framework for Automatic Generation of NoC Topologies using Generative Adversarial Networks

Abstract

We propose GANNoC, a framework for automatic generation of customized Network-on-Chip (NoC) topologies, which exploits generative adversarial networks (GANs) learning capabilities. We define the problem of NoC generation as a graph generation problem, and train a GAN to produce such graphs. We further present a Reward-WGAN (RWGAN) architecture, based on the Wasserstein GAN (WGAN). It is coupled to a reward network enabling to steer the resulting generative system towards topologies having desired properties. We illustrate this capability through a case study aimed at producing topologies with a specific number of physical connections. After training, the generative network produces unique topologies with a 36% improvement regarding the number of connections, when compared to those found in the training dataset. NoCs' performance assessment is carried out using the Ratatoskr 3D-NoC simulator with state-of-the-art characteristics. Results suggest interesting opportunities in learning correlations between intrinsic NoC features and resulting performance.

A Generative AI for Heterogeneous Network-on-Chip Design Space Pruning

“…In [7], the GANNoC framework exploits Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and GANs to generate irregular NoC topologies minimizing the number of inter-router connections. In this work, we leverage GANs to reduce the design space exploration for heterogeneous NoC composed of a diversity of routers.…”

“…Lately, the concept of "Reward WGAN" (RWGAN) was introduced [7], [11]. It adds a third network, called Reward, to provide further guidance to the Generator's learning.…”

“…b) Multi-Objective Loss Function: The Generator's training consists in minimizing its loss. From the RWGAN Gener-ator loss function presented in a previous work [7], we derive the M-RWGAN Generator loss principle as follows:…”