Architecture and implementation of chip multiprocessors: custom logic components and software for rapid prototyping

Abstract

This work describes components and software tools in support of rapid prototyping in programmable logic for research on chip multiprocessors. Contemporary programmable logic chips offer considerable on-chip logic and memory resources. Prototyping of systems in programmable logic chips is faster and less costly than full-custom chip design. The first contribution that is described in this paper is a collection of original research-oriented logic components that provides processor, memory, and interconnect functionality for rapid prototyping. Because these are original components, and not proprietary vendor-supplied components, they may be arbitrarily extended and modified to suit research needs. The second contribution is a set of enhanced software tools for generating executable code. The third contribution is user-configurable software for testing and evaluating prototype chip multiprocessor implementations in hardware. In addition to describing these contributions, this paper provides results from implementing and testing prototype components and complete chip multiprocessors, including simulation waveforms, logic chip resource utilization, and observations of hardware operation.