Policies of System Level Pipeline Modeling

TL;DR

This paper introduces new SystemC/C++ modeling techniques and a DSL for efficient pipeline simulation, enabling quick evaluation of pipeline policies and behaviors in hardware systems.

Contribution

It presents a domain-specific language embedded in SystemC/C++ for automating pipeline configuration and techniques for policy-based parameterization of pipeline behavior.

Findings

Efficient modeling and simulation of pipelines using the proposed DSL.

Automated configuration reduces boilerplate code in pipeline models.

Policy-based parameterization enables flexible performance evaluation.

Abstract

Pipelining is a well understood and often used implementation technique for increasing the performance of a hardware system. We develop several SystemC/C++ modeling techniques that allow us to quickly model, simulate, and evaluate pipelines. We employ a small domain specific language (DSL) based on resource usage patterns that automates the drudgery of boilerplate code needed to configure connectivity in simulation models. The DSL is embedded directly in the host modeling language SystemC/C++. Additionally we develop several techniques for parameterizing a pipeline's behavior based on policies of function, communication, and timing (performance modeling).