Optimising runtime reconfigurable designs for high performance applications
File(s)
Author(s)
Niu, Xinyu
Type
Thesis
Abstract
This thesis proposes novel optimisations for high performance runtime reconfigurable designs.
For a reconfigurable design,
the proposed approach investigates idle resources introduced by static design approaches,
and exploits runtime reconfiguration to eliminate the inefficient resources.
The approach covers the circuit level, the function level, and the system level.
At the circuit level, a method is proposed for tuning reconfigurable designs with two analytical models:
a resource model for computational and memory resources and memory bandwidth,
and a performance model for estimating execution time.
This method is applied to tuning implementations of finite-difference algorithms,
optimising arithmetic operators and memory bandwidth based on algorithmic parameters,
and eliminating idle resources by runtime reconfiguration.
At the function level, a method is proposed to automatically identify and exploit runtime
reconfiguration opportunities while optimising resource utilisation.
The method is based on Reconfiguration Data Flow Graph,
a new hierarchical graph structure enabling runtime reconfigurable designs to be synthesised in three steps:
function analysis, configuration organisation, and runtime solution generation.
At the system level, a method is proposed for optimising reconfigurable designs by dynamically adapting the designs to available runtime resources in a reconfigurable system. This method includes two steps: compile-time optimisation and runtime scaling, which enable efficient workload distribution, asynchronous communication scheduling, and domain-specific optimisations. It can be used in developing effective servers for high performance applications.
For a reconfigurable design,
the proposed approach investigates idle resources introduced by static design approaches,
and exploits runtime reconfiguration to eliminate the inefficient resources.
The approach covers the circuit level, the function level, and the system level.
At the circuit level, a method is proposed for tuning reconfigurable designs with two analytical models:
a resource model for computational and memory resources and memory bandwidth,
and a performance model for estimating execution time.
This method is applied to tuning implementations of finite-difference algorithms,
optimising arithmetic operators and memory bandwidth based on algorithmic parameters,
and eliminating idle resources by runtime reconfiguration.
At the function level, a method is proposed to automatically identify and exploit runtime
reconfiguration opportunities while optimising resource utilisation.
The method is based on Reconfiguration Data Flow Graph,
a new hierarchical graph structure enabling runtime reconfigurable designs to be synthesised in three steps:
function analysis, configuration organisation, and runtime solution generation.
At the system level, a method is proposed for optimising reconfigurable designs by dynamically adapting the designs to available runtime resources in a reconfigurable system. This method includes two steps: compile-time optimisation and runtime scaling, which enable efficient workload distribution, asynchronous communication scheduling, and domain-specific optimisations. It can be used in developing effective servers for high performance applications.
Version
Open Access
Date Issued
2015-01
Date Awarded
2015-05
Copyright Statement
Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND)
Advisor
Luk, Wayne
Sponsor
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
European Commision
HiPEAC
Maxeler Technologies
Altera (Firm)
Xilinx (Firm)
Grant Number
UK EPSRC EP/I012036/1
European Union Seventh Framework Programme under Grant agreement number 287804, 248976 and 257906
Publisher Department
Computing
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)