Parallel and pipeline processing for block cipher algorithms on a network-on-chip

The computational performance of Network-on-Chip (NoC) and Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) for implementing cryptographic block ciphers can be improved by exploiting parallel and pipeline execution. In this paper, we present a parallel and pipeline processing method for block cipher algorithms: Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple-DES Algorithm (TDEA), and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) based on pure software implementation on an NoC. The algorithms are decomposed into task loops, functions, and data flow for parallel and pipeline execution. The tasks are allocated by the proposed mapping strategy to each Processing Element (PE) which consists of a 32-bit Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) core, internal memory, router, and Network Interface (NI) to communicate between PEs. The proposed approach is simulated by using Networked Processor Array (NePA), the cycle-accurate SystemC and Hardware Description Language (HDL) model platform. We show that our method has the advantage of flexibility as compared to previous implementations of cryptographic algorithms based on hardware and software co-design or traditional hardwired ASIC design. In addition, the simulation result presents that the parallel and pipeline processing approach for software block ciphers can be implemented on various NoC platforms which have different complexities and constraints.