Paper Info
Title
Simulation and embedded software development for Anton, a parallel machine with heterogeneous multicore ASICs
Abstract
Anton, a special-purpose parallel machine currently under construction, is the result of a significant hardware-software codesign effort that relied heavily on an architectural simulator. One of this simulator's many important roles is to support the development of embedded software (software that runs on Anton's ASICs), which is challenging for several reasons. First, the Anton ASIC is a heterogeneous multicore system-on-a-chip, with three types of embedded cores tightly coupled to special-purpose hardware units. Second, a standard 512-ASIC configuration contains a total of 6,656 distinct embedded cores, all of which must be explicitly modeled within the simulator. Third, a portion of the embedded software is dynamically generated at simulation time. This paper discusses the various ways in which the Anton simulator addresses these challenges. We use a hardware abstraction layer that allows embedded software source code to be compiled without modification for either the simulation host or the hardware target. We report on the effectiveness of embedding golden-model testbenches within the simulator to verify embedded software as it runs. We also describe our hardware-software cosimulation strategy for dynamically generated embedded software. Finally, we use a methodology that we refer to as concurrent mixed-level simulation to model embedded cores within massively parallel systems. These techniques allow the Anton simulator to serve as an efficient platform for embedded software development.
Year
DOI
Venue
2008
10.1145/1450135.1450165
CODES+ISSS
Keywords
Field
DocType
architectural simulator,embedded software source code,anton simulator,embedded software,concurrent mixed-level simulation,anton asic,parallel machine,embedded core,heterogeneous multicore asics,hardware abstraction layer,embedded software development,distinct embedded core,anton,source code,parallel systems,system on a chip,simulation
Computer science,Source code,Massively parallel systems,Real-time computing,Software,Hardware abstraction layer,Multi-core processor,Computer architecture,Embedded software,Embedding,Parallel computing,Application-specific integrated circuit,Embedded system
Conference
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
2
0.39
18
Authors
8
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
J. P. Grossman137633.12
Cliff Young241146.31
Joseph A. Bank31078.53
Kenneth Mackenzie4987.69
Douglas J. Ierardi519114.56
John K. Salmon641046.45
Ron O. Dror743940.56
David Elliot Shaw8890139.33