Run-Time Services for Hybrid CPU/FPGA Systems on Chip

Modern FPGA devices, which include (multiple) processor core(s) as diffused IP on the silicon die, provide an excellent platform for developing custom multiprocessor systems-on-programmable chip (MPSoPC) architectures. As researchers are investigating new methods for migrating portions of applications into custom hardware circuits, it is also critical to develop new run-time service frameworks to support these capabilities. Hthreads (HybridThreads) is a multithreaded RTOS kernel for hybrid FPGA/CPU systems designed to meet this new growing need. A key capability of hthreads is the migration of thread management, synchronization primitives, and run-time scheduling services for both hardware and software threads into hardware. This paper describes the hthreads scheduler, a key component for controlling both software-resident threads (SW threads) and threads implemented in programmable logic (HW threads). Run-time analysis shows that the hthreads scheduler module helps in reducing unwant...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: RTSS
• Authors: Jason Agron, Wesley Peck, Erik Anderson, David L. Andrews, Ed Komp, Ron Sass, Fabrice Baijot, Jim Stevens
• Keywords: Applied Computing, Hthreads Scheduler, RTSS 2006, Software Threads, Threads