Αξιολόγηση της απόδοσης ετερογενών επαναδιαμορφώσιμων πολυπύρηνων επεξεργαστών
Performance evaluation of heterogeneous reconfigurable multicore processors
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Keywords
Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration ; Field Programmable Gate Arrays ; Heterogeneous computing ; Heterogeneous Multicore Systems ; Dynamical systemsAbstract
Over the last few years, Field Programmable Gate Arrays have penetrated the markets and are increasingly embraced by designers for numerous applications. FPGAs evolved from small glue logic circuits to devices with high-density of reconfigurable logic resources that are capable of implementing large systems in a single chip. One great asset that FPGAs offer is high flexibility since their functionality can be altered by simply loading a new binary file in their configuration memory. Extending the flexibility, a unique capability of FPGAs called Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration (DPR) allows regions to be programmed with new functionality while applications are still running in the remainder of the device. Hence, making FPGAs able to adapt to specific constraints by modifying its hardware in real time.
This thesis demonstrates and evaluates an efficient architecture of a heterogeneous reconfigurable multicore system on a Xilinx MPSoC. The architecture utilizes DPR to adjust hardware resources according to the workload while the device is operating. Efficiency is achieved by optimizing both area and power usage while delivering high performance in order to meet strict time deadlines. The architecture is being implemented, evaluated and tested on a Zybo development board featuring a Xilinx Zynq-7000 FPGA. This system can load custom reconfigurable modules containing multiple instances of Xilinx’s Intellectual Property softcore Microblaze to supplement the preexisting hardwired processor. The results of this experiment demonstrate that it is possible to maintain a desirable performance while decreasing power usage.