An FPGA-based multi-core platform for testing and analysis of architectural techniques

This paper covers the design and FPGA-based prototyping of a full-featured multi-core platform for use in computer architecture research studies. Existing platforms for performing studies include software simulators and hardware-assisted simulators, but there are no modular full-hardware platforms designed to measure a wide range of performance metrics. Such a platform, using HDL synthesis onto an FPGA, can run orders of magnitude faster than software-based solutions at the cost of having less flexible processor configuration and implementation. This paper presents an end-to-end solution, from bottom-level hardware design all the way to automated results collection and analysis, which can be used with inexpensive commodity hardware.