Patent ID: 8040799

Claim:
A network on chip ('NOC') with guaranteed minimum bandwidth for virtual communications channels, the NOC comprising: integrated processor (‘IP’) blocks, routers, memory communications controllers, and network interface controllers, each IP block adapted to a router through a memory communications controller and a network interface controller, each memory communications controller controlling communications between an IP block and memory, each network interface controller controlling inter-IP block communications through routers, each router coupled for data communications with at least one other router through at least one link, each link comprising a wire bus wide enough to accommodate simultaneously, for transmission in one direction on the link, all or part of a data switching packet, each router implementing two or more virtual communications channels, each virtual communications channel characterized by a communication type, each virtual communications channel guaranteed at least a minimum bandwidth for data transmissions over a link between routers by another virtual communications channel for which transmissions are suspended when that virtual communications channel's bandwidth utilization exceeds a predetermined threshold.