Simulation of ATM switches using dynamically reconfigurable FPGA's

Abstract

In this article we will discuss a new approach for efficient simulation of queuing systems by using the configurable computing paradigm. One of the classical approaches to optimize the simulation of queuing systems is by implementing co-processors for the hard parts of the simulation algorithm using Asics or FPGA's. The approach that we are proposing is different from the previous one in the sense that we are not using FPGA's to optimize the simulation algorithm but we implement an equivalent system of the one that has to be simulated in the FPGA. As a case study we have made a simulator for ATM switching fabrics. Our research shows that dynamically reconfigurable FPGA's like the 6200 RPU of XILINX can be efficiently used for the simulation of queuing systems.