The authors present a novel approach to the design of a class of hierarchical interconnection networks for multiprocessor systems. This approach, based on an architecture providing separate networks for each level, gives a general and flexible way to construct efficient hierarchical networks. The performance and cost-effectiveness of the resulting networks are analyzed and compared in detail, using both unbuffered and buffered network models. It is shown that, if the design parameters are determined based on the degree of locality, the cost-effectiveness of a hierarchical network can be significantly improved. In addition, the authors investigate how to construct a cost-effectiveness hierarchical network by determining appropriate design parameters. Two associated algorithms are developed for this purpose.>

Hierarchical interconnection networks exploit locality in communication to reduce the number of links in the networks.In this paper, we propose a cla8s of general hierarchical interconnection network8 for message-passing architectures.We show that a new approach to design, choosing the appropriate number of interface nodes, considerably reduces not only intercluster trafic density but also intracluster trafic density.