Researches On Gridware-Based Information Processing Machine Architecture

This thesis uses the information processing machine concept to abstract the computer systems with different scale, system architecture and application scope, and uses information processing machine architecture to abstract the software and hardware architecture and the interface between them. It emphasizes the design of information processing machine is not separated, independent implementation of software or hardware system, but hardware software co-design. Currently, there are many problems in this field, for the abstraction layer of the architecture, such as the unified modeling for hardware and software in high abstraction level, the separation of system level design decisions and implement, system reusability is poor, the conversion between each stage model, hardware and software division, and so on, for the technical aspects of the architecture, such as the implementation of parallel component, the top-down design methodology and so on. In this thesis the main object of study is the multi-core heterogeneous coarse-grained parallel information processing machine, to response to above problems, we propose a new gridware-based system architecture and a new architecture-centered design process.Gridware model is a new computer architecture and a new design methodology from the invention patent:"the computation model based on formalized field fusion" contributed by Qi Deyu professor. Based this patent, we first propose a new architecture which is a abstraction of software and hardware architecture of information processing machine, and second, we provide a new architecture-centered gridware-based design methodology, It compensates for the lack of current software development methods for parallel system and hardware software co-design system. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to form a system-level design model, a design methodology, and a CASE technology, this methodology makes the information processing machines can be the same as the industrial, which can be rapid designed, verified and manufactured through the assembling and integration of the fusers.The main contents of this thesis and innovations summarized as follows:1. In regard to the problem of the architecture level of information processing machine, we propose a new architecture based on gridware.Gridware model is a new system architecture, it uses gridjack fuser to abstract the concrete function of target system, encapsulates the details of parallel implementation of the hardware and software components, provide a standardized interface for external services, and has reusability. System filed is a set of abstract rules, which defines and standardizes the communication and order of execution between the fuses of some specific domain, and provides designers with a framework to building applications model. Gridjack description/Field description records the system configuration and connection status based on gridware model, gridjack engine analysises and implements the gridjack description or field description. The system description model based on gridware abstract the constitution of information processing machine on high level, and shields the concrete implementation of hardware and software solutions and the complexity of the underlying platform.2. In regard to the shortcomings of the current design methodology for parallel application and hardware software co-design, we propose a new architecture-centered and top-down hardware software co-design methodologyThe system description model based on gridware and specified by system field is used in the whole development process of information processing machine, it has the following characteristics:1) Executable attribute means that the model is described by a executable language, simulation can be directly on this model; and the design space exploration and co-synthesis can also directly executed on this model too.2) Hardware/Software without distinction means the system specification is modeling for system function, the Hardware/Software partition is not executed in system level.3) Global isomorphic refers to the specification throughout the design and implementation of all design level, and between the various abstract levels, it does not need model conversion. The system field for hardware/software co-design takes communication sequential processes as the specification for parallel programming, and takes the extended set of standard C:impulseC language to design gridjack fuser.3. In regard to the huge space of hardware/software co-design, we achieve a new design space exploration mode which integrated design space exploration module based on decoupled multi-objective optimization algorithmThe traditional design approach could not achieve the comprehensive best scheme under multiple constraints and optimization objectives (such as cost, power, time, and so on). We propose the design space exploration algorithm based on the system description model, extends the traditional two meta mapping method of hardware/software partition to extension hardware/software mapping. In this thesis it uses multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to automatically search Pareto optimal solution in design space of system specification model. This thesis decouples the description and the solution of the evolutionary algorithm used for design space exploration. The description module is placed into system design framework, the solution module is opened out to the user-defined functions, and a standardized data exchange interface is established.In the chapter6, we implement a node level information processing machine with MPSoC based on gridware model.Complex embedded devices based on MPSoC are typical representative of multi-core heterogeneous coarse-grained information processing machine. The methodology proposed in this thesis can be smooth expended to construct single-board level, server level and cluster level information processing machine.