In modern VLSI technology, hundreds of thousands of arithmetic units fit on a 1cm^2 chip. The challenge is supplying them with instructions and data. Stream architecture is able to solve the problem well. However, the...In modern VLSI technology, hundreds of thousands of arithmetic units fit on a 1cm^2 chip. The challenge is supplying them with instructions and data. Stream architecture is able to solve the problem well. However, the applications suited for typical stream architecture are limited. This paper presents the definition of regular stream and irregular stream, and then describes MASA (Multiple-morphs Adaptive Stream Architecture) prototype system which supports different execution models according to applications' stream characteristics. This paper first discusses MASA architecture and stream model, and then explores the features and advantages of MASA through mapping stream applications to hardware. Finally MASA is evaluated by ten benchmarks. The result is encouraging.展开更多
文摘In modern VLSI technology, hundreds of thousands of arithmetic units fit on a 1cm^2 chip. The challenge is supplying them with instructions and data. Stream architecture is able to solve the problem well. However, the applications suited for typical stream architecture are limited. This paper presents the definition of regular stream and irregular stream, and then describes MASA (Multiple-morphs Adaptive Stream Architecture) prototype system which supports different execution models according to applications' stream characteristics. This paper first discusses MASA architecture and stream model, and then explores the features and advantages of MASA through mapping stream applications to hardware. Finally MASA is evaluated by ten benchmarks. The result is encouraging.