A Novel Approach to Software-Defined FPGA Computing

By Stephane Monboisset, PLDA, Dec. 15, 2015 – 

Recent methodologies for FPGA design, centered on high-level synthesis (HLS) tools and leveraging software programming languages such as OpenCL, C, and C++ have provided a sandbox for software developers to reap the benefits of FPGA-based hardware acceleration in numerous applications. But the methodologies often fall short in one essential respect: enabling software developers to define and configure, on their own, the hardware infrastructure best suited for their application. The industry has continued to pursue the holy grail of a high-level workflow for implementing applications on FPGA-based platforms that does not require specific FPGA expertise.

Over the past five years, PLDA has developed just such a workflow. Called QuickPlay, it efficiently addresses the implementation complexity challenge and enables multiple use models for FPGA development. But one of its core sources of value is the way in which it lets software developers take applications intended for CPUs and implement them, partially or fully, on FPGA hardware. QuickPlay leverages all of the FPGA resources, turning these powerful but complex devices into software-defined platforms that yield the benefits of FPGAs without the pain of hardware design.

Consider a software algorithm that can be broken down into two functions: Data is processed into one function and is then sent to another for further processing. From a software perspective, this implementation is as simple as a call to Function1() followed by a separate call to Function2(), using pointers to the location of the data to be processed.

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