Runtime Scheduling, Allocation, and Execution of Real-Time Hardware Tasks onto Xilinx FPGAs Subject to Fault Occurrence

This paper describes a novel way to exploit the computation capabilities delivered by modern Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), not only towards a higher performance, but also towards an improved reliability. Computation-specific pieces of circuitry are dynamically scheduled and allocated to different resources on the chip based on a set of novel algorithms which are described in detail in this article. These algorithms consider most of the technological constraints existing in modern partially reconfigurable FPGAs as well as spontaneously occurring faults and emerging permanent damage in the silicon substrate of the chip. In addition, the algorithms target other important aspects such as communications and synchronization among the different computations that are carried out, either concurrently or at different times. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is tested by means of a wide range of synthetic simulations, and, notably, a proof-of-concept implementation of them using real FPGA hardware is outlined

Smart technologies for effective reconfiguration: the FASTER approach

Current and future computing systems increasingly require that their functionality stays flexible after the system is operational, in order to cope with changing user requirements and improvements in system features, i.e. changing protocols and data-coding standards, evolving demands for support of different user applications, and newly emerging applications in communication, computing and consumer electronics. Therefore, extending the functionality and the lifetime of products requires the addition of new functionality to track and satisfy the customers needs and market and technology trends. Many contemporary products along with the software part incorporate hardware accelerators for reasons of performance and power efficiency. While adaptivity of software is straightforward, adaptation of the hardware to changing requirements constitutes a challenging problem requiring delicate solutions. The FASTER (Facilitating Analysis and Synthesis Technologies for Effective Reconfiguration) project aims at introducing a complete methodology to allow designers to easily implement a system specification on a platform which includes a general purpose processor combined with multiple accelerators running on an FPGA, taking as input a high-level description and fully exploiting, both at design time and at run time, the capabilities of partial dynamic reconfiguration. The goal is that for selected application domains, the FASTER toolchain will be able to reduce the design and verification time of complex reconfigurable systems providing additional novel verification features that are not available in existing tool flows

A Hardware Implementation of a Run-Time Scheduler for Reconfigurable Systems

New generation embedded systems demand high performance, efficiency and flexibility. Reconfigurable hardware can provide all these features. However the costly reconfiguration process and the lack of management support have prevented a broader use of these resources. To solve these issues we have developed a scheduler that deals with task-graphs at run-time, steering its execution in the reconfigurable resources while carrying out both prefetch and replacement techniques that cooperate to hide most of the reconfiguration delays. In our scheduling environment task-graphs are analyzed at design-time to extract useful information. This information is used at run-time to obtain near-optimal schedules, escaping from local-optimum decisions, while only carrying out simple computations. Moreover, we have developed a hardware implementation of the scheduler that applies all the optimization techniques while introducing a delay of only a few clock cycles. In the experiments our scheduler clearly outperforms conventional run-time schedulers based on As-Soon-As-Possible techniques. In addition, our replacement policy, specially designed for reconfigurable systems, achieves almost optimal results both regarding reuse and performance

HW implementation of an execution manager for reconfigurable systems

Reconfigurable HW can be used to build a hardware multitasking system where tasks can be assigned to the reconfigurable HW at run-time according to the requirements of the running applications. Normally the execution in this kind of systems is controlled by an embedded processor. In these systems tasks are frequently represented as subtask graphs, where a subtask is the basic scheduling unit that can be assigned to a reconfigurable HW. In order to control the execution of these tasks, the processor must manage at run-time complex data structures, like graphs or linked list, which may generate significant execution-time penalties. In addition, HW/SW communications are frequently a system bottleneck. Hence, it is very interesting to find a way to reduce the run-time SW computations and the HW/SW communications. To this end we have developed a HW execution manager that controls the execution of subtask graphs over a set of reconfigurable units. This manager receives as input a subtask graph coupled to a subtask schedule, and guarantees its proper execution. In addition it includes support to reduce the execution-time overhead due to reconfigurations. With this HW support the execution of task graphs can be managed efficiently generating only very small run-time penalties

A methodological approach for designing and sequencing product families in Reconfigurable Disassembly Systems

Purpose: A Reconfigurable Disassembly System (RDS) represents a new paradigm of automated disassembly system that uses reconfigurable manufacturing technology for fast adaptation to changes in the quantity and mix of products to disassemble. This paper deals with a methodology for designing and sequencing product families in RDS. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is developed in a two-phase approach, where products are first grouped into families and then families are sequenced through the RDS, computing the required machines and modules configuration for each family. Products are grouped into families based on their common features using a Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm. The optimal sequence of the product families is calculated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model minimizing reconfigurability and operational costs. Findings: This paper is focused to enable reconfigurable manufacturing technologies to attain some degree of adaptability during disassembly automation design using modular machine tools. Research limitations/implications: The MILP model proposed for the second phase is similar to the well-known Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and therefore its complexity grows exponentially with the number of products to disassemble. In real-world problems, which a higher number of products, it may be advisable to solve the model approximately with heuristics. Practical implications: The importance of industrial recycling and remanufacturing is growing due to increasing environmental and economic pressures. Disassembly is an important part of remanufacturing systems for reuse and recycling purposes. Automatic disassembly techniques have a growing number of applications in the area of electronics, aerospace, construction and industrial equipment. In this paper, a design and scheduling approach is proposed to apply in this area. Originality/value: This paper presents a new concept called Reconfigurable Disassembly System, which represents disassembly systems with reusability, scalability, agility and reconfigurability features. These features and some specific costs are considered as part of the proposed methodology

A Hardware Task-Graph Scheduler for Reconfigurable Multi-tasking Systems

Reconfigurable hardware can be used to build a multitasking system where tasks are assigned to HW resources at run-time according to the requirements of the running applications. These tasks are frequently represented as direct acyclic graphs and their execution is typically controlled by an embedded processor that schedules the graph execution. In order to improve the efficiency of the system, the scheduler can apply prefetch and reuse techniques that can greatly reduce the reconfiguration latencies. For an embedded processor all these computations represent a heavy computational load that can significantly reduce the system performance. To overcome this problem we have implemented a HW scheduler using reconfigurable resources. In addition we have implemented both prefetch and replacement techniques that obtain as good results as previous complex SW approaches, while demanding just a few clock cycles to carry out the computations. We consider that the HW cost of the system (in our experiments 3% of a Virtex-II PRO xc2vp30 FPGA) is affordable taking into account the great efficiency of the techniques applied to hide the reconfiguration latency and the negligible run-time penalty introduced by the scheduler computations

임베디드 시스템에서 여러 컨볼루션 뉴럴 네트워크를 위한 하드웨어를 고려하는 소프트웨어 최적화 기법

학위논문 (박사) -- 서울대학교 대학원 : 공과대학 컴퓨터공학부, 2021. 2. 하순회.임베디드 기기는 대개 계산량, 메모리 크기, 에너지 소모량 등의 제약 사항이 있기 때문에, 딥 러닝 응용을 임베디드 기기에서 수행하는 것은 쉽지 않다. 딥 러닝 응용의 계산량 증가를 해결하기 위해서 에너지 효율적인 모바일 GPU, 디지털 신호 처리 프로세서을 사용하거나, 또는 새로운 뉴럴 프로세서 칩을 만드려는 하드웨어 영역의 최적화 방법이 있다. 반면에 딥 러닝 응용 영역에서는 새로운 딥 러닝 응용을 만들거나, 딥 러닝의 통계적인 특성을 이용한 근사 계산 방법을 이용하여 최적화 방법을 제안하고 있다. 그리고 또 다른 최적화 방법으로는 먼저 하드웨어 플랫폼의 성능 병목 부분을 찾고, 일을 동등하게 여러 계산 자원에 분배하여 최적화하는 하드웨어를 고려한 최적화 방법이 있다. 본 논문에서는 하드웨어를 고려한 소프트웨어 최적화 방법들을 고안하였다. 먼저, LPIRC 대회에 참가한 경험을 바탕으로 임베디드 딥 러닝 시스템을 최적화하는 체계적인 방법론을 고안하고, 그 방법론에 따른 C-GOOD이라는 딥 러닝 프레임워크를 구현하였다. C-GOOD은 하드웨어 플랫폼에 독립적으로 작동하기 위해 대부분의 임베디드 기기에서 컴파일, 수행이 가능한 C 코드를 생성한다. 또한 여러 가지 딥 러닝 응용 영역의 최적화 방법을 적용할 수 있는 옵션과 시스템 성능을 측정할 수 있는 기능을 제공하였다. 이 방법론을 Jetson TX2, Odroid XU4, SRP 등의 서로 다른 3개의 기기에 적용해 봄으로써, 고안된 방법론이 하드웨어 플랫폼에 독립적이며 C-GOOD을 통해 쉽게 여러 딥 러닝 응용 최적화 방법을 적용할 수 있음을 확인하였다. 최근 임베디드 기기에 이종 프로세서들이 많이 탑재되고 있고, 동시에 자율 주행 자동차와 스마트폰 등의 하나의 임베디드 기기에서 여러 개의 딥 러닝 응용을 동시에 수행하는 것이 필요해지고 있다. 본 논문에서는 여러 딥 러닝 응용을 이종 프로세서들을 탑재한 임베디드 기기에 스케줄하는 방법을 고안하고, 스케줄링 프레임워크를 구현하였다. 이 방법론은 실제 기기에서의 프로파일링부터 스케줄 결과를 실제 기기에서 확인하는 과정까지 포함하며, 실제 기기에서 발생하는 이슈들인 DVFS, CPU Hot-plug 등을 고려하였다. 이종 프로세서로의 스케줄링 기법으로는 많이 사용되는 메타 휴리스틱 알고리즘은 유전 알고리즘을 사용하였다. 특히, 서로 다른 주기와 상대 오프셋을 가지고 있는 여러 응용을 동시에 스케줄하기 위해서 모든 태스크들의 스케줄 가능성을 고려하여 스케줄하였다. 스케줄 결과를 검증하기 위해서, ACL의 코어 라이브러리를 이용하여 딥 러닝 추론 응용을 구현하였으며, 스케줄 결과와 같이 각 레이어들을 실제 하드웨어의 서로 다른 프로세서 매핑하도록 구현하였다. 갤럭시 S9 스마트폰과 Hikey 970 보드에서 서로 다른 두개의 딥 러닝 네트워크를 수행하고, 스케줄 결과와 비교하여 방법론을 검증할 수 있었다. 이전 최적화 방법들이 딥 러닝 응용의 계산량과 프로세서들에 집중하였는데, 딥 러닝 가속기 또는 NPU의 성능 병목이 생기는 원인은 오프 칩 메모리와 온 칩 사이의 통신이다. 더욱이 오프 칩 메모리 DRAM 접근은 NPU의 전력소모의 많은 부분을 차지한다고 알려져있다. 따라서 이와 같은 오프 칩 DRAM 접근으로 인한 NPU의 성능과 에너지 영향을 줄이고자 본 논문에서는 온 칩 메모리 뱅크를 관리하는 컴파일러 기법을 고안하였다. 온 칩 메모리를 여러 개의 뱅크로 구성하고 연산 도중에 인풋 데이터를 미리 로드함으로써 연산 지연 시간을 줄일 수 있다는 점과 레이어의 아웃풋을 온 칩 메모리에서 재사용하여 오프 칩 메모리 접근을 줄일 수 있다는 점을 이용하여 서로 다른 두 가지의 목적 함수를 가진 두 가지 기법을 고안하였다. 목적 함수는 각각 오프 칩 메모리 접근을 최소화하는 것과 오프 칩 메모리 접근으로 인한 프로세서들의 처리 지연시간을 줄이는 것이다. 서로 다른 5개의 딥 러닝 네트워크를 사이클 레벨 NPU 시뮬레이터에서 수행하여 두 목적 함수에 따른 절충 (Trade-off) 관계 를 확인하였다. 또한 온 칩 메모리 뱅크 관리 기법을 레이어 간 피처 데이터를 최대한 재사용하는 레이어 융합 방법으로 확장하였다. 기존의 순수한 레이어 융합 방법의 경우에는 중복 계산하는 오버헤드와 추가적인 필터 웨이트 로드가 생긴다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 기존의 레이어 별로 처리하는 방법과 순수한 레이어 융합 방법 사이의 하이브리드 레이어 융합 방법을 고안하였다. 두 온 칩 메모리 뱅크 관리 기법을 기반으로 하이브리드 레이어 융합 방법이 기존의 레이어 별 처리하는 기법과 순수한 레이어 융합 방법보다 좋은 성능을 보임을 확인할 수 있었다.Executing deep learning algorithms on mobile embedded devices is challenging because embedded devices usually have tight constraints on the computational power, memory size, and energy consumption, while the resource requirements of deep learning algorithms achieving high accuracy continue to increase. To cope with increasing computation complexity, it is common to use an energy-efficient accelerator, such as a mobile GPU or digital signal processor (DSP) array, or to develop a customized neural processor chip called neural processing unit (NPU). In the application domain, many optimization techniques have been proposed to change the application algorithm in order to reduce the computational amount and memory usage by developing new deep learning networks or software optimization techniques that take advantage of the statistical nature of deep learning algorithms. Another approach is hardware-ware software optimization, which finds the performance bottleneck first and then distributes the workload evenly by scheduling the workloads. This dissertation covers hardware-aware software optimization, which is based on a hardware processor or platform. First, we devise a systematic optimization methodology through the experience of participating in the Low Power Image Recognition Challenge (LPIRC) and build a deep learning framework called C-GOOD (C-code Generation Framework for Optimized On-device Deep Learning) based on the devised methodology. For hardware independence, C-GOOD generates a C code that can be compiled for and run on any embedded device. Also, C-GOOD is facilitated with various options for application domain optimization that can be performed according to the devised methodology. By applying the devised methodology to three hardware platforms, NVIDIA Jetson TX2, Odroid XU4, and the Samsung Reconfigurable Processor (SRP), we demonstrate that the devised methodology is independent of the hardware platforms and application domain optimizations can be performed easily with C-GOOD. Recently, embedded devices are equipped with heterogeneous processing elements (PEs), and the need for running multiple deep learning applications concurrently in the embedded systems such as self-driving cars and smartphones is increasing at the same time. In those systems, we devise an end-to-end methodology to schedule deep learning applications onto heterogeneous PEs and implement a scheduling framework according to the methodology. It covers from profiling on real embedded devices to verifying the schedule results on the devices. In this methodology, we use a genetic algorithm (GA)-based scheduling technique for scheduling deep learning applications onto heterogeneous PEs and consider several practical issues in the profile step. Furthermore, we schedule multiple applications with different throughput constraints considering the schedulability of mapped tasks on each processor. After implementing a deep learning inference engine that can utilize heterogeneous PEs using a low-level library of the ARM compute library (ACL), we verify the devised methodology by running two widely used convolution neural networks (CNNs) on a Galaxy S9 smartphones and a Hikey970 board. While the previous optimization methods focus on the computation and processing elements, the performance bottleneck of deep learning accelerators is the communication between off-chip and on-chip memory. Moreover, the off-chip DRAM access volume has a significant effect on the energy consumption of an NPU. To reduce the impact of off-chip DRAM access on the performance and energy of an NPU, we devise compiler techniques for an NPU to manage multi-bank on-chip memory with two different objectives: one is to minimize the off-chip memory access volume, and the other is to minimize the processing delay caused by unhidden DRAM accesses. The main idea is that by organizing on-chip memory into multiple banks, we may hide the off-chip DRAM access delay by prefetching data into unused banks during computation and reduce the off-chip DRAM access volume by storing the output feature map data of each layer to on-chip memory. By running CNN benchmarks on a cycle-level NPU simulator, we demonstrate the trade-off relation between two objectives. The devised multi-bank on-chip memory management (MOMM) techniques are extended to consider layer fusion that aims to reuse feature maps between layers maximally. Since the pure layer fusion technique incurs extra computation overhead and increases DRAM access for filter weights, a hybrid fusion technique is presented between a per-layer processing technique and the pure layer fusion techniques, based on the devised MOMM techniques with two different objectives. Experiment results confirm the superiority of the hybrid fusion technique to the per-layer processing technique and the pure layer fusion technique.Abstract Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Algorithms Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Contribution 7 1.3 Dissertation Organization 8 Chapter 2 Background 9 2.1 Target Hardware 9 2.1.1 Commodity Hardware Platform 9 2.1.2 Application-specific Hardware Accelerator 10 2.2 Convolutional Neural Network 11 2.2.1 Convolution 11 2.2.2 Optimization Methods for Convolutional Neural Network 11 Chapter 3 Optimization for a Commodity Hardware Platform 14 3.1 Joint Optimization Method of Multiple Objectives 15 3.1.1 Hardware Platform 16 3.1.2 Deep Neural Network and Software Framework 17 3.1.3 Software Optimization Techniques 19 3.2 C-code Generation Framework for Optimized On-device Deep Learning 29 3.2.1 C-GOOD Framework 29 3.2.2 Experiments 36 3.3 Scheduling Deep Learning Applications Onto Heterogeneous Processors 44 3.3.1 Search Space Size 45 3.3.2 Hardware Platform and System Model 45 3.3.3 Proposed Scheduling Framework and Profiling 48 3.3.4 Scheduling a Single Deep Learning Application 53 3.3.5 Scheduling Multiple Deep Learning Applications 61 3.3.6 Verification with Real Hardware Platforms 65 3.4 Related Work 69 3.4.1 Deep Learning Framework 69 3.4.2 Deep Learning Compiler 70 3.4.3 Scheduling Deep Learning Application 70 3.4.4 Scheduling Multiple Applications on Heterogeneous Processors 72 Chapter 4 Optimization for an Application-specific Hardware Accelerator 75 4.1 Multi-Bank On-chip Memory Management Problem 75 4.1.1 Main Idea 75 4.1.2 Assumed Dataflow 76 4.1.3 Multi-bank On-chip Memory Management Problem 79 4.2 Proposed Multi-bank On-chip Memory Management Techniques 83 4.2.1 DRAM-first Storing Policy 84 4.2.2 DRAM Access Minimization Policy (MIN policy) 85 4.2.3 DRAM Access Hiding Policy (HIDE policy) 89 4.2.4 Multiple Path Consideration 91 4.3 Layer Fusion Technique 92 4.3.1 Layer Fusion Technique 92 4.3.2 Hybrid Fusion Technique 94 4.4 Experiments 96 4.4.1 Setup 96 4.4.2 Performance Comparison of MOMM Techniques 98 4.4.3 Multiple Path 100 4.4.4 Design Space Exploration of NPU Architecture 101 4.4.5 Hybrid Fusion Technique 104 4.5 Related Work 106 Chapter 5 Conclusion 108 Bibliography 111 Appendix 120 A Proposed Multi-bank On-chip Memory Management Algorithm 120 A.1 Multi-bank On-chip Memory (MOM) Manager 120 A.2 MIN policy 122 A.3 HIDE policy 124 요 약 126Docto

A methodological approach for designing and sequencing product families in Reconfigurable Disassembly Systems

Purpose: A Reconfigurable Disassembly System (RDS) represents a new paradigm of automated disassembly system that uses reconfigurable manufacturing technology for fast adaptation to changes in the quantity and mix of products to disassemble. This paper deals with a methodology for designing and sequencing product families in RDS. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is developed in a two-phase approach, where products are first grouped into families and then families are sequenced through the RDS, computing the required machines and modules configuration for each family. Products are grouped into families based on their common features using a Hierarchical Clustering Algorithm. The optimal sequence of the product families is calculated using a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming model minimizing reconfigurability and operational costs. Findings: This paper is focused to enable reconfigurable manufacturing technologies to attain some degree of adaptability during disassembly automation design using modular machine tools. Research limitations/implications: The MILP model proposed for the second phase is similar to the well-known Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) and therefore its complexity grows exponentially with the number of products to disassemble. In real-world problems, which a higher number of products, it may be advisable to solve the model approximately with heuristics. Practical implications: The importance of industrial recycling and remanufacturing is growing due to increasing environmental and economic pressures. Disassembly is an important part of remanufacturing systems for reuse and recycling purposes. Automatic disassembly techniques have a growing number of applications in the area of electronics, aerospace, construction and industrial equipment. In this paper, a design and scheduling approach is proposed to apply in this area. Originality/value: This paper presents a new concept called Reconfigurable Disassembly System, which represents disassembly systems with reusability, scalability, agility and reconfigurability features. These features and some specific costs are considered as part of the proposed methodology.Peer Reviewe

A Task-Graph Execution Manager for Reconfigurable Multi-tasking Systems

Reconfigurable hardware can be used to build multi tasking systems that dynamically adapt themselves to the requirements of the running applications. This is especially useful in embedded systems, since the available resources are very limited and the reconfigurable hardware can be reused for different applications. In these systems computations are frequently represented as task graphs that are executed taking into account their internal dependencies and the task schedule. The management of the task graph execution is critical for the system performance. In this regard, we have developed two dif erent versions, a software module and a hardware architecture, of a generic task-graph execution manager for reconfigurable multi-tasking systems. The second version reduces the run-time management overheads by almost two orders of magnitude. Hence it is especially suitable for systems with exigent timing constraints. Both versions include specific support to optimize the reconfiguration process