Reconfigurable computers: an empirical analysis (abstract only).

Reconfigurable Computers are parallel systems that are designed around multiple general-purpose processors and multiple field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips. These systems can leverage the synergism between conventional processors and FPGAs to provide low-level hardware functionality at the same level of programmability as general-purpose computers. In this work we conduct an experimental study using one of the state-of-the-art reconfigurable computers and a representative set of applications to assess the field, uncover the challenges, propose solutions, and conceive a realistic evolution path. We consider issues of concern including performance/cost. We also consider productivity in the sense of development, compiling, running, and system reliability. It will be shown that for some applications, the performance/cost can be orders of magnitude better than conventional computers. It will be also shown that programming such machines may still require some hardware knowledge, similar to hardware knowledge computer programmers must acquire to write scalable programs.