Desarrollo de un entorno hardware para la ejecución de aplicaciones de propósito general sobre FPGAs

Abstract

El hardware dinámicamente reconfigurable ofrece la posibilidad de dar a un único dispositivo hardware cualquier tipo de funcionalidad deseada por el usuario. Esto por ejemplo permitiría que nuestro dispositivo fuese hoy una calculadora y mañana un potente microprocesador. Existen varios tipos de dispositivos hardware dinámicamente reconfigurables de entre los cuales nosotros utilizaremos las FPGAs. La forma de trabajar con las FPGAs es diseñar mediante herramientas software un circuito hardware, transformarlo en un mapa de bits que es la representación física del circuito dentro de la FPGA y por último cargar dicho mapa de bits en la propia FPGA. Una vez hecho esto la FPGA se comportará de la misma forma que el circuito que se diseñó. Nuestro proyecto consiste en ir un paso más allá del modo de funcionamiento normal de este tipo de dispositivos, ya no se tratará de cargar un único circuito en la FPGA sino que podremos tener varios circuitos diferentes almacenados de manera externa y el usuario podrá elegir cual es el que quiere ejecutar en cada momento. Para que el usuario del sistema pueda elegir la tarea que desea ejecutar en cada momento hemos desarrollado un entorno sobre el cual se pueden introducir las órdenes por teclado y visualizar los resultados obtenidos en un monitor. El entorno permite la carga y ejecución de hasta cuatro tareas de manera simultánea e independiente aunque el usuario tiene la posibilidad de lanzar todas las que desee en cualquier momento. Las tareas cargadas permanecerán en ejecución hasta que finalicen, por lo que si el usuario lanzara más de cuatro tareas, éstas quedarán a la espera de que alguna de las que haya en ejecución termine, liberando así su zona de trabajo y permitiendo que una nueva tarea pase a ejecución. El proceso consistente en cargar varias tareas sobre una misma FPGA en cualquier momento y sin que tengan porqué interferir al funcionamiento del resto, es la denominada reconfiguración parcial. Esta reconfiguración parcial es una técnica desarrollada recientemente que permite no sólo que un sistema varíe su comportamiento a lo largo del tiempo, de manera aleatoria o por voluntad de un usuario, sino que podría darse el caso de que el propio sistema sea capaz de determinar cual de sus partes no está siendo utilizada en un determinado momento, pudiendo así desactivarlos para ahorrar energía o disminuir la temperatura global del sistema. De forma contraria, también podría decidir si necesita más recursos de un cierto tipo, bien sea duplicando alguno ya existente o bien cargando un módulo nuevo que permita resolver el problema en un menor tiempo o con una mayor eficiencia o complejidad. [ABSTRACT] The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.The dynamically reconfigurable hardware offers the possibility that a hardware device changes its functionality depending on the user requirements. This for example would allow that our device was today a calculator and tomorrow a powerful microprocessor. There are many types of dynamically reconfigurable hardware devices and we will use the FPGAs. The way to work with the FPGAs consists in the design with software tools of a hardware circuit, to transform it in a bit map that is the physical representation of the circuit within the FPGA and finally to load this bit map in the configuration memory of the FPGA. Then the FPGA will behave like the circuit designed. Our project tries to go far away of the normal function mode of this type of devices. The idea is to have several stored circuits and the user will be able to choose the circuit that he wants to execute at every moment. In this way we have developed an environment on which the user can write commands using the keyboard and the system shows the results in a monitor. The environment allows the user to load and run simultaneous a maximum of four tasks. However the user has the possibility of throws all the tasks that he wants in any moment. The loaded tasks will remain in execution until they finalize. Then if the user throws more than four tasks, these tasks will be stopped until any task in execution finishes, allowing a new task to start the execution. The process of loading several tasks on a same FPGA, in any moment and without they have to interfere to the operation of the other, it is the denominated partial reconfiguration. This partial reconfiguration is a technique recently developed that allows a system to change its behaviour throughout the time. It is also possible that the system would determine which of its parts is not being used at a certain moment, in that case the system would deactivate them to save energy or to diminish the globe temperature of the system. By opposite, the system also can decide if it needs more resources of a type and in that case it can duplicate one of the existing or load a new module that allows to solver the problem in a smaller time or with a greater efficiency or complexity.