Virtual memory window for application-specific reconfigurable coprocessors

Reconfigurable Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) on the market consist of full-fledged processors and large Field-Programmable Gate-Arrays (FPGAs). The latter can be used to implement the system glue logic, various peripherals, and application-specific coprocessors. Using FPGAs for application-specific coproce...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Vuletić, Miljan, Pozzi, Laura, Ienne, Paolo
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Application software
Applied sciences
Circuit properties
Coprocessors
Design. Technologies. Operation analysis. Testing
Digital circuits
Electric, optical and optoelectronic circuits
Electronic circuits
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
Field programmable gate arrays
Hardware
Hardware > Communication hardware, interfaces and storage
Integrated circuits
Integrated circuits by function (including memories and processors)
Laboratories
Operating systems
Permission
Programming profession
Reconfigurable logic
Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices
Software design
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Summary:Reconfigurable Systems-on-Chip (SoCs) on the market consist of full-fledged processors and large Field-Programmable Gate-Arrays (FPGAs). The latter can be used to implement the system glue logic, various peripherals, and application-specific coprocessors. Using FPGAs for application-specific coprocessors has certain speedup potentials, but it is less present in practice because of the complexity of interfacing the software application with the coprocessor. Another obstacle is the lack of portability across different systems. In this work, we present a virtualisation layer consisting of an operating-system extension and a hardware component. It lowers the complexity of interfacing and increases portability potentials, while it also allows the coprocessor to access the user virtual memory through a virtual memory window. The burden of moving data between processor and coprocessor is shifted from the programmer to the operating system. Since the virtualisation layer components hide physical details of the system, user designed hardware and software become perfectly portable. A reconfigurable SoC running Linux is used to prove the viability of the concept. Two applications are ported to the system for testing the approach, with their critical functions mapped to the specific coprocessors. We show a significant speedup compared to the software versions, while limited penalty is paid for virtualisation.
ISSN:0738-100X
DOI:10.1145/996566.996818