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cornell-zhang / heterocl

HeteroCL: A Multi-Paradigm Programming Infrastructure for Software-Defined Heterogeneous Computing
https://cornell-zhang.github.io/heterocl/
Apache License 2.0
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SW Simulation failed using RTL IP integration #176

Open hecmay opened 4 years ago

hecmay commented 4 years ago

Vivado HLS provides users with blackbox option when adding source files to the working project. Users can add a json file specifying the RTL kernel (i.e IP we want to integrate) and its corresponding C model (i.e. behavior level model). 

addfile -blacbox rtl_model.json

The #170 is currently using the blackbox to connect HLS kernel and RTL IPs. This method is not stable (the SW simulation oftentimes halts forever). Also it has a lot of limitations, making it hard to be extended to other IP cores.

Instead of using blackbox, we should consider each IP core as a kernel function (instead of a sub-function being called inside the top-level function), and enqueue kernels in the OpenCL host program.

Blaok commented 4 years ago

Instead of using blackbox, we should consider each IP core as a kernel function (instead of a sub-function being called inside the top-level function), and connect the kernel functions in the OpenCL host program.

Do you mean kernel-to-kernel streaming?

hecmay commented 4 years ago

@Blaok. Yes, that's what I mean. We can create the k2k streaming channels, and all the kernel functions (either IPs or HLS functions) are enqueued into the command queue.

zhangzhiru commented 4 years ago

Why is OpenCL host program required to support kernel-to-kernel streaming?

Blaok commented 4 years ago

@Hecmay Good to know. SODA actually has some preliminary support for k2k streaming. I'll keep you posted when I have a fully working version ready for integration.

hecmay commented 4 years ago

Why is OpenCL host program required to support kernel-to-kernel streaming?

The streaming channels between kernels are not declared in OpenCL host program. It's similar to autorun attribute in AOCL where the host program only enqueues the kernels, and data is streamed between those kernels.

seanlatias commented 4 years ago

... and connect the kernel functions in the OpenCL host program.

So this part is misleading in your first post.

hecmay commented 4 years ago

... and connect the kernel functions in the OpenCL host program.

So this part is misleading in your first post.

That's true. It's a bit misleading. Removed.