Project

Exploiting eXascale Technology with Reconfigurable Architectures

Acronym
EXTRA
Code
41J07815
Duration
01 September 2015 → 31 August 2018
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Research disciplines
  • Humanities
    • Architectural design
    • Architecture
    • Art studies and sciences
    • Interior architecture
  • Engineering and technology
    • Architectural engineering
    • Architecture
    • Interior architecture
Keywords
architecture
 
Project description

To handle the stringent performance requirements of future exascale High Performance Computing (HPC)

applications, HPC systems need ultra-efficient heterogeneous compute nodes. To reduce power and increase

performance, such compute nodes will require reconfiguration as an intrinsic feature, so that specific HPC application

features can be optimally accelerated at all times, even if they regularly change over time. In the EXTRA project,

we create a new and flexible exploration platform for developing reconfigurable architectures, design tools and

HPC applications with run-time reconfiguration built-in from the start. The idea is to enable the efficient codesign

and joint optimization of architecture, tools, applications, and reconfiguration technology in order to

prepare for the necessary HPC hardware nodes of the future.The project EXTRA covers the complete chain from

architecture up to the application:•More coarse-grain reconfigurable architectures that allow reconfiguration on

higher functionality levels and therefore provide much faster reconfiguration than at the bit level.•The development

of just-in time synthesis tools that are optimized for fast (but still efficient) re-synthesis of application phases

to new, specialized implementations through reconfiguration.•The optimization of applications that maximally

exploit reconfiguration.•Suggestions for improvements to reconfigurable technologies to enable the proposed

reconfiguration of the architectures.In conclusion, EXTRA focuses on the fundamental building blocks for run-time

reconfigurable exascale HPC systems: new reconfigurable architectures with very low reconfiguration overhead, new

tools that truly take reconfiguration as a design concept, and applications that are tuned to maximally exploit runtime

reconfiguration techniques.Our goal is to provide the European platform for run-time reconfiguration to maintain

Europe’ competitive edge and leadership in run-time reconfigurable computing.