Editing System on a chip (section)

==== Bus-based communication ====
Historically, a shared global [[bus (computing)|computer bus]] typically connected the different components, also called "blocks" of the SoC.<ref name=":0" /> A very common bus for SoC communications is ARM's royalty-free Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture ([[Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture|AMBA]]) standard.

[[Direct memory access]] controllers route data directly between external interfaces and SoC memory, bypassing the CPU or [[control unit]], thereby increasing the data [[throughput]] of the SoC. This is similar to some [[device driver]]s of peripherals on component-based [[multi-chip module]] PC architectures.

Wire delay is not scalable due to continued [[miniaturization]], [[Computer performance|system performance]] does not scale with the number of cores attached, the SoC's [[operating frequency]] must decrease with each additional core attached for power to be sustainable, and long wires consume large amounts of electrical power. These challenges are prohibitive to supporting [[Manycore processor|manycore]] systems on chip.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|xiii}}