FPGA Architecture Characterization for System Level Performance Analysis

We present a modular and scalable approach for automatically extracting actual performance information from a set of FPGA-based architecture topologies. This information is used dynamically during simulation to support performance analysis in a system level design environment. The topologies capture systems representing common designs using FPGA technologies of interest. Their characterization is done only once; the results are then used during simulation of actual systems being explored by the designer. Our approach allows a rich set of FPGA architectures to be explored accurately at various abstraction levels to seek optimized solutions with minimal effort by the designer. To offer an industrial example of our results, we describe the characterization process for Xilinx Core Connect-based platforms and the integration of this data into the METROPOLIS modeling environment