Arteris Connected Blog

Faster IP Integration

I am thoroughly enjoying 2013. That’s because there seems to be a lot more reason for optimism this year than last year.  But before we let go of 2012, it’s important to reflect on the past year and see what it can teach us so we can make better business decisions moving forward.

Gartner analyst Jim Tully’s assessment that network on chip (NoC) technology will be “mainstream” in two to five years is an acknowledgement of the technical and commercial success NoC interconnect IP has had in the consumer electronics system on chip (SoC) market over the last couple of years.

A network-on-chip is a technology approach that can be used to transfer data and commands in many domains. When people in the IP and EDA businesses say NoC, they are usually referring to the means to control a SoC interconnect fabric, either within a chip, between chips, or both. In short, it is an adjective that describes a type of SoC interconnect solution.

The pat answer of course is “Moore’s law enabled semiconductor designers to cram more transistors into a given area each year, allowing more functions to be added to a chip.”