ESE 566: Hardware/Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems Fall 2005

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ESE 566 Hardware/Software Co-Design of Embedded
SystemsFall 2005 Instructor Dr. Alex Doboli.

• Paper discussed in class W. Wolf, An
  Architectural Co-Synthesis Algorithm for
  Distributed, Embedded Computing Systems, IEEE
  Transactions on VLSI Systems, 1997.

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Brief description of the paper content

• Briefly, present the topic of the paper. What
  novel ideas does the paper bring?
• What embedded applications are enumerated in the
  paper?

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Paper topic

• What motivation is offered for using
  multi-processor embedded architectures?
• Enumerate what design variables exist in a
  multi-processor embedded architecture.

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Paper topic

• What is a process graph? Explain the advantages
  disadvantages of using process graphs for
  embedded system design.
• What is an architectural model? What are
  technology descriptions?

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Embedded design problem

• Explain the used cost function.
• What kind of circular reasoning is the author
  discussing? What other situations of circular
  reasoning do you identify in a top-down design
  flow? What solutions do you suggest to circular
  reasoning situations?
• What sequence of activities does the author
  suggest? Discuss the advantages limitations of
  this sequence.

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Embedded design problem

• Discuss the example in Figure 5.
• How is the initial solution produced?
• How are processes scheduled?

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Embedded design problem

• Discuss the PE cost minimization step (Figures 7
  and 8).
• Discuss step 3 (reduction of communication
  requirements).
• Discuss step 4 (allocation of communication
  channels between PEs).