The chapter discusses the challenges and future trends in System-on-Chip (SoC) design, particularly focusing on the development of on-chip micronetworks to address the complexities of integrating multiple components. The authors, Luca Benini from the University of Bologna and Giovanni De Micheli from Stanford University, highlight the need for reliable and efficient communication among interacting system components, especially as SoCs scale up in complexity and performance. They propose a layered design methodology for reconfigurable micronetworks, inspired by general network design techniques, to achieve efficient communication and manage the increasing energy consumption and synchronization challenges. Key points include: - The increasing size and complexity of SoCs, with projections showing 4 billion transistors running at 10 GHz by the end of the decade. - The limitations of global clock synchronization and the shift towards globally asynchronous and locally synchronous systems. - The reliability and performance issues of on-chip communication due to signal propagation delays, noise, and energy constraints. - The need for probabilistic metrics and stochastic models in design methodologies. - The importance of specialized and optimized micronetwork architectures tailored to specific application domains. - The role of network control algorithms in managing resources and ensuring quality of service. - The potential of reconfigurable micronetworks and the use of programmable elements in FPGAs to support dynamic communication and adaptability. The chapter also explores various network architectures, such as shared-medium and direct/indirect networks, and discusses the trade-offs between deterministic and adaptive routing algorithms. It emphasizes the importance of software layers, including system and application programs, in supporting the functionality and performance of SoCs. The authors conclude that a layered-micronetwork design methodology is essential for managing the complexity of future SoC designs.The chapter discusses the challenges and future trends in System-on-Chip (SoC) design, particularly focusing on the development of on-chip micronetworks to address the complexities of integrating multiple components. The authors, Luca Benini from the University of Bologna and Giovanni De Micheli from Stanford University, highlight the need for reliable and efficient communication among interacting system components, especially as SoCs scale up in complexity and performance. They propose a layered design methodology for reconfigurable micronetworks, inspired by general network design techniques, to achieve efficient communication and manage the increasing energy consumption and synchronization challenges. Key points include: - The increasing size and complexity of SoCs, with projections showing 4 billion transistors running at 10 GHz by the end of the decade. - The limitations of global clock synchronization and the shift towards globally asynchronous and locally synchronous systems. - The reliability and performance issues of on-chip communication due to signal propagation delays, noise, and energy constraints. - The need for probabilistic metrics and stochastic models in design methodologies. - The importance of specialized and optimized micronetwork architectures tailored to specific application domains. - The role of network control algorithms in managing resources and ensuring quality of service. - The potential of reconfigurable micronetworks and the use of programmable elements in FPGAs to support dynamic communication and adaptability. The chapter also explores various network architectures, such as shared-medium and direct/indirect networks, and discusses the trade-offs between deterministic and adaptive routing algorithms. It emphasizes the importance of software layers, including system and application programs, in supporting the functionality and performance of SoCs. The authors conclude that a layered-micronetwork design methodology is essential for managing the complexity of future SoC designs.