Simulation Framework for Performance Prediction in the Engineering of Reconfigurable Systems and Applications

Abstract—Reconfigurable computing,(RC) is rapidly emerging as a promising,technology,for the future of high-performance computing, enabling systems with the computational density and power,of custom-logic hardware,and,the versatility of software- driven hardware,in an optimal mix. Novel methods,for rapid virtual prototyping, performance prediction, and evaluation are of critical importance,in the engineering,of complex,reconfigurable,systems and,applications. This approach,can,yield insightful tradeoff analyses while saving valuable time and resources for researchers and,engineers,alike. The research,described,herein,provides a methodology,for mapping,arbitrary applications to targeted re- configurable systems in a simulation environment. By splitting the process into two domains, the application and simulation domains, characterization,of each,element,can,occur,independently,and in parallel, leading to fast and accurate performance prediction results. This paper presents the design of a novel new,framework for simulative performance prediction, along with a single-node case study performed,with a synthetic-aperture radar application to provide validation results and a component tradeoff analysis, illustrating the effectiveness of our approach,at the node,level.