Unified Debug Environment for Adaptive Computing Systems
Abstract
Adaptive computing systems (ACS) are hardware systems based around FPGA technology. Historically, design and debug tools for such systems have been based on ASIC technology. However, FPGA technology provides features which suggest different approaches be used for debug. For example, readback is a feature available in many FPGA devices which provides the ability to query an executing FPGA device for its entire internal state, providing unprecedented visibility into the executing design. The central element of the debug environment developed in this work is a debug services module (DSM). It provides a unified simulation/hardware execution debug environment which allows the user to debug the executing hardware in the context of the original design environment. This means signal values in the executing hardware can be viewed and manipulated using their original signal names from the design source. In addition, the DSM provides the following support for designs running on ACS platforms: checkpointing, multitasking, remote access, and interfacing with external high-level design tools. Finally, the DSM provides support for the automatic synthesis of debug circuitry to enable rapid instrumentation of FPGA designs for debug purposes. This report summarizes the debug system and a number of the experiments completed using it.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA419973
Entities
People
- Brad Hutchings
- Brent Nelson
- Doran Wilde
- Mike Wirthlin
Organizations
- Brigham Young University