Run-Time Management of Logic Resources on Reconfigurable Systems

TLDR

Dynamic reconfigurable systems based on partial FPGAs must manage limited logic space efficiently, often making online allocation decisions to avoid fragmentation and performance degradation. The paper presents a new software tool designed to address the challenges of consecutive reconfigurations within the same logic space. The tool implements a novel online rearrangement procedure that resolves fragmentation and reorganizes logic space transparently to running applications.

Abstract

Dynamically reconfigurable systems based on partial and dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs may have their functionality partially modified at run-time without stopping the operation of the whole system. The efficient management of the logic space available is one of the biggest problems faced by these systems. When the sequence of reconfigurations to be performed is not predictable, resource allocation decisions have to be made on-line. A rearrangement may be necessary to gel enough contiguous space to implement incoming functions, avoiding the spreading of their components and the resulting degradation of system performance. A new software tool that helps to handle the problems posed by the consecutive reconfiguration of the same logic space is presented in this paper. This tool uses a novel on-line rearrangement procedure to solve fragmentation problems and to rearrange the logic space in a way completely transparent to the applications currently running.