Allocating Resources based on a Model of Coarse-grained Reconfigurable Architecture

Reconfigurable resource utilisation is a key factor that impacts the performance of reconfigurable instruction set processors (RISPs), which can customise their instruction set for special applications. In this study, the authors propose a novel method to improve reconfigurable resource utilisation of RISPs based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips. The method provides a graph multi-colouring allocating algorithm based on a simplified reconfigurable resource model. In the model, they construct three kinds of FPGA-based coarse-grained reconfigurable resources and abstract their attributes mainly through their location and area. The authors’ algorithm employs a graph multi-colouring method to allocate the coarse-grained reconfigurable resources to custom instructions for RISPs. Experimental results demonstrate that their model and algorithm reinforce a state-of-the-art resource utilisation method for RISPs, and reveals some interesting regularities which provide creditable new insights of reconfigurable resource utilisation.