ARM NIC-301 User Manual

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Introduction 
ARM DDI 0397G
Copyright © 2006-2010 ARM. All rights reserved.
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Non-Confidential
1.1
About the AMBA Network Interconnect
The AMBA Network Interconnect is a highly configurable component that enables you to create 
a complete high performance, optimized AMBA-compliant network infrastructure. The 
possible configurations for the AMBA Network Interconnect can range from a single bridge 
component, for example an AHB to AXI protocol bridge, to a complex infrastructure that 
consists of up to 128 masters and 64 slaves of a combination of different AMBA protocols.
An AMBA Network Interconnect configuration can consist of multiple switches with many 
topology options. Figure 1-1 shows a top-level block diagram of the AMBA Network 
Interconnect that contains:
multiple switches
multiple AMBA Slave Interface Blocks (ASIBs)
multiple AMBA Master Interface Blocks (AMIBs).
Figure 1-1 AMBA Network Interconnect top-level block diagram
Switch
A
Switch
B
Interface 
Block (IB)
AMIB
AMIB
ASIB
ASIB
Distributed Global 
Programmers 
View (GPV)
Default 
slave
AXI
AXI
AXI
AXI
AMBA 
master 
interface
AXI
AXI 
signals
AMBA Network Interconnect (NIC-301)
Routing omitted 
for clarity
AMBA 
master 
interface
AMBA 
slave 
interface
AMBA 
slave 
interface
ASIB
AMBA 
slave 
interface
AXI
Switch
C
AXI
AXI 
signals
AMIB
AMBA 
master 
interface
AXI 
signals