Embedded Processor Selection/Performance Estimation using FPGA-based Profiling

• Main Author: Obeidat, Fadi
• Format: Others
• Published: VCU Scholars Compass 2010
• Subjects: Embedded Sysytems; Performance Modeling; FPGA-based Profiling; Processor Selection; Engineering
• Online Access: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2232; http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3231&context=etd

In embedded systems, modeling the performance of the candidate processor architectures is very important to enable the designer to estimate the capability of each architecture against the target application. Considering the large number of available embedded processors, the need has increased for building an infrastructure by which it is possible to estimate the performance of a given application on a given processor with a minimum of time and resources. This dissertation presents a framework that employs the softcore MicroBlaze processor as a reference architecture where FPGA-based profiling is implemented to extract the functional statistics that characterize the target application. Linear regression analysis is implemented for mapping the functional statistics of the target application to the performance of the candidate processor architecture. Hence, this approach does not require running the target application on each candidate processor; instead, it is run only on the reference processor which allows testing many processor architectures in very short time.