System and method for high-performance, low-power data center interconnect fabric

1. A system on a chip, comprising:

two or more processing cores; and

an auxiliary processor coupled to each one of the two or more processing cores, wherein the auxiliary processor causes a communication request directed to a first one of the two or more processing cores to be held in a switching fabric through which the system on a chip communicates with remote systems when the auxiliary processor determines that the first one of the processing cores is in an inactive state, wherein the auxiliary processor assesses the processing cores to determine a second one of the processing cores that is currently in a state allowing the second one of the processing cores to perform a task requested in the communication request, and wherein the auxiliary processor causes the communication request to be delivered to the second one of the processing cores for allowing the second one of the processing cores to perform the task after determining that the second one of the processing cores is currently in the state allowing the second one of the processing cores to perform the task while the first one of the processing cores remains in the inactive state.

2. The system on a chip of claim 1 wherein the second one of the processing cores being in a state allowing the second one of the processing cores to perform the task includes second one of the processing cores having sufficient processing power available for performing the task.

3. The system on a chip of claim 2 wherein the first processor is asleep when in the inactive state.

4. A system on a chip, comprising:

two or more processing cores;

a switching fabric coupled to each one of the two or more processor cores; and

an auxiliary processor coupled to the fabric switch and to each one of the processing cores, wherein the auxiliary processor enables each one of the processing cores to be selectively transitioned between an inactive state and an active state, wherein the auxiliary processor receives and responds to a communication request intended for being processed by a first one of the processing cores, wherein the auxiliary processor receives and responds to the communication request while the first one of the processing cores is in the inactive state, wherein the auxiliary processor enables the switching fabric to provide data associated with the communication request to the first one of the processing cores after transitioning the first one of the processing cores from the inactive state to the active state and wherein the auxiliary processor keeps the communication request pending in the switching fabric while the first one of the processing cores is being transitioned from the inactive state to the active state.

5. The system on a chip of claim 4 wherein:

the inactive state is a state in which electrical power allocated to the first one of the processing cores is inadequate for performing a task requested in the communication request; and

the active state is a state in which electrical power allocated to the first one of the processing cores is adequate for performing the task.

6. The system on a chip of claim 5 wherein the first processor is asleep when in the inactive state.

7. A system on a chip node in a processing system, comprising:

processing cores each capable of being operated at two or more different power levels;

one or more external communication interfaces allowing communication of information with one or more other systems, wherein each one of the external communication interfaces is coupled to at least one of the processing cores; and

one or more power management portions coupled to each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions determine a need for computation at each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions determine a manner in which to allocate electrical power from at least one controllable power supply unit to each one of the processing cores to meet the need for computation of each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions can selectively allocate electrical power from a plurality of controllable power supply units, and wherein the one or more power management portions allocates additional electrical power from a particular one of the controllable power supply units not currently supplying power to the processing cores in order to meet the need for computation of each one of the processing cores;

wherein the one or more power management portions enable each one of the processing cores to be selectively transitioned between an active state and an inactive state;

wherein the one or more power management portions receive and respond to communication requests intended for being processed by a first one of the processing cores;

wherein the one or more power management portions receives and responds to the communication request while the first one of the processing cores is in the inactive state; and

wherein the one or more power management portions enable data associated with the communication request to be provided to the first one of the processing cores after transitioning the first one of the processing cores from the inactive state to the active state; and

wherein the one or more power management portions keep the communication request pending in the switching fabric while the first one of the processing cores is being transitioned from the inactive state to the active state.

8. A system on a chip node in a processing system, comprising:

processing cores each capable of being operated at two or more different power levels;

one or more external communication interfaces allowing communication of information with one or more other systems, wherein each one of the external communication interfaces is coupled to at least one of the processing cores;

one or more power management portions coupled to each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions determine a need for computation at each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions determine a manner in which to allocate electrical power from at least one controllable power supply unit to each one of the processing cores to meet the need for computation of each one of the processing cores, wherein the one or more power management portions can selectively allocate electrical power from a plurality of controllable power supply units, and wherein the one or more power management portions allocates additional electrical power from a particular one of the controllable power supply units not currently supplying power to the processing cores in order to meet the need for computation of each one of the processing cores; and

a switching fabric coupled to each one of the two or more processor cores, wherein the fabric switch allows selective communication between each one of the processing cores and each one of the external communication interfaces;

wherein the one or more power management portions cause a communication request directed to a first one of the processing cores to be held in the switching fabric when the one or more power management portions determine that the first one of the processing cores is in an inactive state;

wherein the one or more power management portions assess the processing cores to determine a second one of the processing cores that is currently in an active state; and

wherein the one or more power management portions cause the communication request to be delivered to the second one of the processing cores for allowing the second one of the processing cores to perform a task requested in the communication request after determining that the second one of the processing cores is currently in the active state.

9. The system on a chip node of claim 8 wherein:

the one or more power management portions assess the second one of the processing cores to determine an available processing power capacity prior to causes the communication request to be delivered to the second one of the processing cores; and

the one or more power management portions cause the communication request to be delivered to the second one of the processing cores in response to determining that the second one of the processing cores has sufficient processing power available for performing the task.

10. The system on a chip node of claim 9 , further comprising:

an auxiliary processor coupled to the fabric switch and to each one of the processing cores, wherein the auxiliary processor comprises the one or more power management portions.