Hardware-Software Codesign

Rapid Prototyping Design

Process
REUSE DESIGN LIBRARIES AND DATABASE

Primarily VIRTUAL PROTOTYPE Primarily

software hardware

HW HW
DESIGN FAB
SYSTEM FUNCTION HW & INTEG.
DEF. DESIGN SW & TEST
PART.
HW & SW SW SW
CODESIGN DESIGN CODE

HW & SW
Partitioning
& Codesign
 Introduction to Embedded Systems
and Hardware-Software Codesign
• Introduction
• Unified HW/SW Representations
• HW/SW Partitioning Techniques
• Integrated HW/SW Modeling Methodologies
• HW and SW Synthesis Methodologies
• Industry Approaches to HW/SW Codesign

• Hardware/Software Codesign Research

• Summary
 Codesign Definition
and Key Concepts
• Codesign
– The meeting of system-level objectives by
exploiting the trade-offs between hardware and
software in a system through their concurrent
design

• Key concepts
– Concurrent: hardware and software developed at
the same time on parallel paths
– Integrated: interaction between hardware and
software developments to produce designs that
meet performance criteria and functional
specifications
 Motivations for Codesign
• Factors driving codesign (hardware/software
systems):
– Instruction Set Processors (ISPs) available as cores
in many design kits (386s, DSPs,
microcontrollers,etc.)
– Systems on Silicon - many transistors available in
typical processes (> 10 million transistors available
in IBM ASIC process, etc.)
– Increasing capacity of field programmable devices
- some devices even able to be reprogrammed on-
the-fly (FPGAs, CPLDs, etc.)
– Efficient C compilers for embedded processors
– Hardware synthesis capabilities
 Motivations for Codesign
(cont.)
• The importance of codesign in designing
hardware/software systems:
– Improves design quality, design cycle time, and cost
• Reduces integration and test time
– Supports growing complexity of embedded systems
– Takes advantage of advances in tools and
technologies
• Processor cores
• High-level hardware synthesis capabilities
• ASIC development
 Categorizing
Hardware/Software Systems
• Application Domain
– Embedded systems
• Manufacturing control
• Consumer electronics
• Vehicles
• Telecommunications
• Defense Systems
– Instruction Set Architectures
– Reconfigurable Systems
• Degree of programmability
– Access to programming
– Levels of programming
• Implementation Features
– Discrete vs. integrated components
– Fabrication technologies
 Categories of Codesign Problems
• Codesign of embedded systems
– Usually consist of sensors, controller, and actuators
– Are reactive systems
– Usually have real-time constraints
– Usually have dependability constraints
• Codesign of ISAs
– Application-specific instruction set processors (ASIPs)
– Compiler and hardware optimization and trade-offs
• Codesign of Reconfigurable Systems
– Systems that can be personalized after manufacture for a
specific application
– Reconfiguration can be accomplished before execution or
concurrent with execution (called evolvable systems)
Components of the Codesign Problem
• Specification of the system
• Hardware/Software Partitioning
– Architectural assumptions - type of processor, interface style between
hardware and software, etc.
– Partitioning objectives - maximize speedup, latency requirements,
minimize size, cost, etc.
– Partitioning strategies - high level partitioning by hand, automated
partitioning using various techniques, etc.
• Scheduling
– Operation scheduling in hardware
– Instruction scheduling in compilers
– Process scheduling in operating systems
• Modeling the hardware/software system during the design process
 Embedded Systems
Embedded Systems
Application-specific systems which contain hardware and software
tailored for a particular task and are generally part of a larger system
(e.g., industrial controllers)
• Characteristics
– Are dedicated to a particular application
– Include processors dedicated to specific functions
– Represent a subset of reactive (responsive to external inputs) systems
– Contain real-time constraints
– Include requirements that span:
• Performance
• Reliability
• Form factor
 Embedded Systems:
Specific Trends
• Use of microprocessors only one or two
generations behind state-of-the-art for
desktops
– E.g. N/2 bit width where N is the bit width of
current desktop systems
• Contain limited amount of memory
• Must satisfy strict real-time and/or
performance constraints
• Must optimize additional design objectives:
– Cost
– Reliability
– Design time
• Increased use of hardware/software codesign
principles to meet constraints
 Embedded Systems:
Examples
• Banking and transaction processing
applications
• Automobile engine control units
• Signal processing applications
• Home appliances (microwave ovens)
• Industrial controllers in factories
• Cellular communications
 Embedded Systems:
Complexity Issues
• Complexity of embedded systems is continually increasing
• Number of states in these systems (especially in the software) is very
large
• Description of a system can be complex, making system analysis
extremely hard
• Complexity management techniques are necessary to model and
analyze these systems
• Systems becoming too complex to achieve accurate “first pass”
design using conventional techniques
• New issues rapidly emerging from new implementation technologies
 Techniques to Support
Complexity Management
• Delayed HW/SW partitioning
– Postpone as many decisions as possible that place
constraints on the design
• Abstractions and decomposition techniques
• Incremental development
– “Growing” software
– Requiring top-down design
• Description languages
• Simulation
• Standards
• Design methodology management framework
 A Model of the Current
Hardware/Software Design
Process
DOD-STD-2167A
HWCI
HW Development Testing
Fabric.
Detailed
Design
Prelim.
Design
Hardware
Require.
Sys/HW
Analysis
Require.
Analysis
System System Operation.
Concepts Integ. and Testing and
Sys/SW test Eval.
Require.
Analysis Software
Require.
Analysis Prelim.
Design
Detailed
Design
Coding,
Unit test.,
SW Development Integ. test CSCI
Testing
[Franke91]
© IEEE 1991
 Current Hardware/Software
Design Process
• Basic features of current process:
– System immediately partitioned into hardware and software components
– Hardware and software developed separately
– “Hardware first” approach often adopted
• Implications of these features:
– HW/SW trade-offs restricted
• Impact of HW and SW on each other cannot be assessed easily
– Late system integration
• Consequences these features:
– Poor quality designs
– Costly modifications
– Schedule slippages
 Incorrect Assumptions in
Current Hardware/Software
Design Process
• Hardware and software can be acquired
separately and independently, with
successful and easy integration of the two
later
• Hardware problems can be fixed with
simple software modifications
• Once operational, software rarely needs
modification or maintenance
• Valid and complete software requirements
are easy to state and implement in code
 Directions of the HW/SW
Design Process
Integrated Modeling Substrate
HWCI
HW Development Testing
Fabric.
Detailed
Design
Prelim.
Design
Hardware
Require.
Sys/HW
Analysis
Require.
Analysis Operation.
System Integrated Modeling Substrate System
Concepts Integ. and Testing and
Sys/SW test Evaluation
Require.
Analysis Software
Require.
Analysis Prelim.
Design
Detailed
Design
Coding,
Unit test.,
SW Development Integ. test CSCI
Testing
[Franke91]
© IEEE 1991
 Requirements for the Ideal
Codesign Environment
• Unified, unbiased hardware/software
representation
– Supports uniform design and analysis techniques for
hardware and software
– Permits system evaluation in an integrated design
environment
– Allows easy migration of system tasks to either
hardware or software
• Iterative partitioning techniques
– Allow several different designs (HW/SW partitions) to
be evaluated
– Aid in determining best implementation for a system
– Partitioning applied to modules to best meet design
criteria (functionality and performance goals)
 Requirements for the Ideal
Codesign Environment (cont.)
• Integrated modeling substrate
– Supports evaluation at several stages of the design
process
– Supports step-wise development and integration of
hardware and software
• Validation Methodology
– Insures that system implemented meets initial
system requirements
 Cross-fertilization Between
Hardware and Software
Design
• Fast growth in both VLSI design and
software engineering has raised awareness
of similarities between the two
– Hardware synthesis
– Programmable logic
– Description languages

• Explicit attempts have been made to

“transfer technology” between the
domains
 Cross-fertilization Between
Hardware and Software
Design (cont.)
VLSI SOFTWARE
DESIGN ENGINEERING

• EDA tool technology has been transferred to SW CAD

systems
– Designer support (not automation)

– Graphics-driven design

– Central database for design information

– Tools to check design behavior early in process

 Cross-fertilization Between
Hardware and Software
Design (cont.)
SOFTWARE VLSI
ENGINEERING DESIGN

• Software technology has been transferred to

EDA tools
– Single-language design
• Use of 1 common language for architecture spec. and
implementation of a chip
– Compiler-like transformations and techniques
• Dead code elimination
• Loop unrolling
– Design change management
• Information hiding
• Design families
 Typical Codesign Process

System
FSM- Description Concurrent processes
directed graphs (Functional) Programming languages

HW/SW Unified representation

Partitioning (Data/control flow)

SW HW
Another
HW/SW Software Interface Hardware
Synthesis Synthesis Synthesis
partition

System Instruction set level

Integration HW/SW evaluation
 Conventional Codesign
Methodology
Analysis of Constraints
and Requirements

System Specs..

HW/SW
Partitioning

Hardware Descript. Software Descript.

HW Synth. and Interface Synthesis Software Gen.

Configuration & Parameterization

Configuration Hardware HW/SW Software

Modules Components Interfaces Modules

HW/SW Integration
and Cosimulation

Integrated
System
© IEEE 1994
System Evaluation Design Verification
[Rozenblit94]
 Codesign Features

Basic features of a codesign process

• Enables mutual influence of both HW and SW
early in the design cycle
– Provides continual verification throughout the
design cycle
– Separate HW/SW development paths can lead to
costly modifications and schedule slippages
• Enables evaluation of larger design space
through tool interoperability and automation
of codesign at abstract design levels
• Advances in key enabling technologies (e.g.,
logic synthesis and formal methods) make it
easier to explore design tradeoffs