EEL4930/5934 Reconfigurable Computing The state-of-the-art Reconfigurable Computing equipment available for this course is made possible by a generous grant from the Rockwell Collins Growth Relationship Grant Program and an equipment/software donation from Nallatech.

Instructors Dr. Greg Stitt Office Hours 3-4 M,W (Benton 323) Also, by appointment Dr. Herman Lam Larsen 225

Course Website 2 sites Linked off my website WebCT Vista/E-learning Select e-learning Login with GatorLink account Used for posting grades, class discussions Policy When sending an , include the class name in brackets e.g. [EEL5932] Question about project 2 For s to entire class, use e-learning Announcements will be posted both on class website and e-learning site

Grading EEL4930/5934 Grading: Mid-term 1: 20% (Wednesday, October 3) Mid-term 2: 20% (Wednesday, October 31) Final exam: 20% Labs/Homework: 10% Project: 30% Final grade: curved average of all components 5934 will have different tests, homeworks, and project

Lab Assignments Linked off main website and e-learning Intended to familiarize with FPGA boards, VHDL Initials labs will be individual Will allow groups when using boards

Research Project Groups Size to be determined based on enrollment Likely 2-3 per group Topic subject to instructor approval Will give examples Good idea - find algorithm in your area, use RC to improve performance Imaging processing, bioinformatics, CAD, etc. If interested in research, make an appointment with me Will try to find a project that will helps towards degree

Reading Material Textbook: The Design Warrior’s Guide to FPGAs C. Maxfield ISBN: Supplemented by research papers Check class website for daily requirements Will also post slides when used Optional books also listed in syllabus

Prerequisites Digital design Architecture Controller/Datapath Memory Heirarchy Pipelining More listed in syllabus Assumes no knowledge of reconfigurable computing

Goals Understanding of issues related to RC (reconfigurable computing) Detailed investigation of a specific problem Project/Research Paper Publish! Best submissions will be submitted

Academic Dishonesty Unless told otherwise, labs and homework assignments must be done individually All assignments will be checked for cheating Groups must obtain permission to use larger size May be allowed for difficult projects Collaboration is allowed (and encouraged), but within limits Can discuss problems, how to use tools etc. Cannot show code, solutions, etc. Cheating penalties First instance - 0 on corresponding assignment Second - 0 for entire class

Attendance Policy Attendance is optional, but highly recommended If you are sick, stay at home! If obviously sick, you will be asked to leave Missed tests cannot be retaken, except with doctor’s note

What is Reconfigurable Computing? Reconfigurable computing (RC) is the study of architectures that can adapt (after fabrication) to a specific application or application domain Involves architecture, design strategies, tool flows, CAD, languages, algorithms

What is Reconfigurable Computing? Alternatively, RC is a way of implementing circuits without fabricating a device Essentially allows circuits to be implemented as “software” “circuits” are no longer the same thing as “hardware” RC devices are programmable by downloading bits - just like software Processor … Bits loaded into program memory Microprocessor Binaries b a c x y FPGA Binaries (Bitfile) Processor FPGA 0010 … Bits loaded into CLBs, SMs, etc.

Why is RC important? Tremendous performance advantages Implements applications as custom circuit In some cases, > 100x faster than microprocessor Alternatively, similar performances as large cluster But much smaller Example: Software executes sequentially RC executes all multiplications in parallel Additions become tree of adders Even with slower clock, RC is much faster Performance difference even greater for larger input sizes SW time increases linearly RC time is basically O(log2(n)) - If enough area is available for (i=0; i < 16; i++) y += c[i] * x[i]

When should RC be used? When it provides the cheapest solution Generally, depends on volume of devices Total cost = NRE + Volume*unit_cost NRE: non-recurring engineering cost One-time cost involved in creating design Volume: expected units to be sold Unit cost: cost of each individual unit RC is typically more cost effective for low volume devices RC: low NRE, high unit cost ASIC: very high NRE, low unit cost

When should RC be used? When circuit may have to be modified Can’t change ASIC - hardware Can change circuit implemented in FPGA Uses When standards change Codec changes after devices fabricated Allows addition of new features to existing devices “Partial reconfiguration” allows virtual fabric size - analagous to virtual memory Without RC Anything that may have to be reconfigured is implemented in software Performance loss

RC Markets Embedded Systems RC achieves performance close to ASIC, sometimes at much lower cost Many embedded systems still use ASIC due to high volume Reconfigurablilty! If standards changes, architecture is not fixed Can add new features after production

RC Markets High-performance computing - HPC Cray XD-1 12 AMD Opterons, FPGAs SGI Altix 64 Itaniums, FPGAs IBM Chameleon Cell processor, FPGAs

RC Markets General-purpose computing??? Ideal situation: desktop machine/OS uses RC to speedup up all applications Problems RC can be very fast, but not for all applications Generally requires parallel algorithms Coding constructs used in many applications not appropriate for hardware Subject of tremendous amount of past and likely future research

CHREC NSF Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing