Optimus: efficient realization of streaming applications on FPGAs

In this paper, we introduce Optimus: an optimizing synthesis compiler for streaming applications. Optimus compiles programs written in a high level streaming language to either software or hardware implementations. The compiler uses a hierarchical compilation strategy that separates concerns between macro- and microfunctional requirements. Macro-functional concerns address how components (modules) are assembled to implement larger more complex applications. Micro-functional issues deal with synthesis issues of the module internals. Optimus thus allows software developers who lack deep hardware design expertise to transparently leverage the advantages of hardware customization without crossing the semantic gap between high level languages and hardware description languages. Optimus generates streaming hardware that achieves on average 40x speedup over our baseline embedded processor for a fraction of the energy. Additionally, our results show that streaming-specific optimizations can f...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: CASES
• Authors: Amir Hormati, Manjunath Kudlur, Scott A. Mahlke, David F. Bacon, Rodric M. Rabbah
• Keywords: CASES 2008, Hardware, Level Streaming Language, Optimus Compiles Programs, System Software