Reconfigurable Computing Brittany Ransbottom Benjamin Wheeler What is Reconfigurable Computing? A computer architecture style which tries to find a happy medium of general purpose processors and ASICs through the use of the flexibility of software, and the speed of hardware. Reconfigurable Computing von Neumann vs. Reconfigurable Fixed resources Variable resources The architecture is While the designed prior to architecture is use as a processor designed prior to use, it can be adjusted or reconfigured to use different resources Execution in SW Execution in HW Spatial vs. Temporal Hardware Software Software The Reconfigurable Computing Paradox • Migration from software to configware o speed-up factors and electricity consumption reduction of about four orders of magnitude o Clock frequency and other specifications of FPGAs are behind microprocessors by about four orders of magnitude Current State No designs merge GPP and ASIC enough to be marketable Too specialized (a glorified asic), or priced too high to benefit replacing GPPs Coarse-Grained doesn't have SW support necessary What is an FPGA? Reprogrammable Hardware Generally configured in VHDL or Verilog Can execute processes spatially as opposed to temporally The FPGA Coprocessor Option +Reprogrammable Logic -Requires pre-existing HW design -Needs to be specific processing, or have an intensive controller/compiler What is Coarse-grained computing Functional units (add, subtraction, multiplication - word-level operations) interconnected in a mesh style Coarse-Grained +Short Reconfiguration Times +Low Delay Characteristics +Low Power consumption -No Gate-level reconfigurability -Large stress for the scheduling level of a compiler (sparse connectivity, distributed register files) Coarse-Grained Architectures • Two main classes o Linear Array Very efficient for linearly pipelineable applications Struggles to support block-based applications Examples: RaPiD, PipeRench, RCP o Mesh-based Much more efficient for 2D applications Examples: KressArray, MATRIX, MorphoSys, ADRES FPGA Advances FPGAs now support dynamic partial reconfiguration Allows for sub-units, rather than reconfiguring the entire FPGA These units can be loaded with different functions Image Processing Using Partially Reconfigurable Blocks for co- processing Algorithm Image Size MicroBlaze SFU Speedup Time (s) Time (s) (6 SFUs) Sobel Smile12 120x12 23.057 1.907 12.1 Edge 0 0 Detection Kirsch Smile12 120x12 23.111 1.864 12.4 Edge 0 0 Detection Prewitt Smile12 120x12 23.051 1.908 12.1 Edge 0 0 Detection FPGA Partial Reconfiguration +Lower-level Hardware design and implementation Closer to a GPP +Significant Speed-up Closer to an ASIC -Deeper knowledge of system needs on the fly Future Potential Coarse-grained and FPGA designs are both viable Both designs require very good compilers Compilation of code and determination of design intent prior to execution appears to be the biggest delay moving forward Conclusion Reconfigurable Computing has a long way to go, but is definitely a viable option for the future. Questions?.