A network on chip (‘NOC’) that includes integrated processor (‘IP’) blocks, routers, memory communications controllers, and network interface controllers, with all communications including a route code specifying a route through the routers of the NOC from a source to a destination, each router including routing logic that directs a communication to one of four ports of the router, the one port identified by the first two bits in the route code. The routing logic in the router shifts the route code to discard the first two bits of the route code before transmitting the communication through the one port.