Verification and Benchmarking in MPA Coprocessor Design Process

Abstract

This paper presents verification and benchmarking required for the development of a coprocessor digital circuit for integer multiple-precision arithmetic (MPA). Its code is developed, with the use of very high speed integrated circuit hardware description language (VHDL), as an intellectual property core. Therefore, it can be used by a final user within their own computing system based on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The coprocessor is still under development and its open-source code is available on the Internet, based on the Mozilla Public License. Therefore, verification and benchmarking of the coprocessor code are vitally important issues as the sources are continually downloaded by users all over the world. In this contribution, we present software tools developed as a part of the system, allowing for detection of errors in the coprocessor code as well as for execution of its benchmarking tests. The research conclusion is that, without well-designed verification and benchmarking software tools, the development of any advanced digital circuit, such as a coprocessor, is actually impossible in realistic time. It stems from the fact that 60% of the project repository include hardware-description codes, whereas the rest of the codes support correct development of the project, i.e., verification and benchmarking in the design process.

Appendix: Project Repository

The project repository [8] consists of documentation (doc), firmware and software directories. Then, firmware directory consists of zedboard, scripts, sim and src directories. In software directory, the following directories are present: DPI, common, data_apps, emusrup, helpers, runtimes, vhdl_gens. Additionally, one can find there the scripts clean_all_programs.sh and compile_all_programs.sh which make it possible to clean and compile all the source files in this directory. The directory DPI includes the codes necessary to execute DPI simulations in Vivado for the MPA core and its modules alone. Then, the directory common includes various C functions used by many different codes in the project repository. In the directory data_apps, one can find codes allowing for the generation of input files for benchmarking of the MPA coprocessor. In the directory emusrup, one can find the code of the MPA coprocessor emulator. In the directory helpers, one can find some useful codes, e.g., allowing us to change the format of binary files. In the directory runtimes, one can find some useful codes allowing for evaluation of the CPU throughput in benchmarking codes. In the directory vhdl_gens, one can find useful codes allowing us to generate, automatically, some VHDL codes, e.g., for the multiplexers used in the coprocessor design.