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What is Reconfigurable Devices

Chapter 3
Handbook of Research on Computational Science and Engineering: Theory and Practice
are versatile configurable electronic components that are used to build distinct hardware implementations on the same set of reconfigurable resources after chip fabrication (Compton & Hauck, 2002). Reconfigurability is achieved by the use of an integrated configuration memory that stores the information about the state and functionally of each part of the device. The device is configured by loading in a configuration bitstream, consisting of a series of commands and frame data. At any time after a reconfigurable device has been powered up, it is possible to suspend its operations, load in a completely new hardware configuration, and restart its operation using the newly loaded configuration(Leibson, 2006).
Published in Chapter:
High-Performance Customizable Computing
Domingo Benitez (University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain)
Copyright: © 2012 |Pages: 30
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-116-0.ch003
Abstract
Many accelerator-based computers have demonstrated that they can be faster and more energy-efficient than traditional high-performance multi-core computers. Two types of programmable accelerators are available in high-performance computing: general-purpose accelerators such as GPUs, and customizable accelerators such as FPGAs, although general-purpose accelerators have received more attention. This chapter reviews the state-of-the-art and current trends of high-performance customizable computers (HPCC) and their use in Computational Science and Engineering (CSE). A top-down approach is used to be more accessible to the non-specialists. The “top view” is provided by a taxonomy of customizable computers. This abstract view is accompanied with a performance comparison of common CSE applications on HPCC systems and high-performance microprocessor-based computers. The “down view” examines software development, describing how CSE applications are programmed on HPCC computers. Additionally, a cost analysis and an example illustrate the origin of the benefits. Finally, the future of the high-performance customizable computing is analyzed.
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