Petru Eles

System Level Hardware/Software Partitioning Based on Simulated Annealing and Tabu Search

This paper presents two heuristics for automatic hardware/software partitioning of system level specifications. Partitioning is performed at the granularity of blocks, loops, subprograms, and processes with the objective of performance optimization with a limited hardware and software cost. We define the metric values for partitioning and develop a cost function that guides partitioning towards the desired objective. We consider minimization of communication cost and improvement of the overall parallelism as essential criteria during partitioning. Two heuristics for hardware/software partitioning, formulated as a graph partitioning problem, are presented: one based on simulated annealing and the other on tabu search. Results of extensive experiments, including real-life examples, show the clear superiority of the tabu search based algorithm.

Timing analysis of the FlexRay communication protocol

FlexRay will very likely become the de-facto standard for in-vehicle communications. However, before it can be successfully used for safety-critical applications that require predictability, timing analysis techniques are necessary for providing bounds for the message communication times. In this paper, we propose techniques for determining the timing properties of messages transmitted in both the static (ST) and the dynamic (DYN) segments of a FlexRay communication cycle. The analysis techniques for messages are integrated in the context of a holistic schedulability analysis that computes the worst-case response times of all the tasks and messages in the system. We have evaluated the proposed analysis techniques using extensive experiments.

Scheduling of conditional process graphs for the synthesis of embedded systems

We present an approach to process scheduling based on an abstract graph representation which captures both dataflow and the flow of control. Target architectures consist of several processors, ASICs and shared busses. We have developed a heuristic which generates a schedule table so that the worst case delay is minimized. Several experiments demonstrate the efficiency of the approach.

Scheduling with bus access optimization for distributed embedded systems

In this paper, we concentrate on aspects related to the synthesis of distributed embedded systems consisting of programmable processors and application-specific hardware components. The approach is based on an abstract graph representation that captures, at process level, both dataflow and the flow of control. Our goal is to derive a worst case delay by which the system completes execution, such that this delay is as small as possible; to generate a logically and temporally deterministic schedule; and to optimize parameters of the communication protocol such that this delay is guaranteed. We have further investigated the impact of particular communication infrastructures and protocols on the overall performance and, specially, how the requirements of such an infrastructure have to be considered for process and communication scheduling. Not only do particularities of the underlying architecture have to be considered during scheduling but also the parameters of the communication protocol should be adapted to fit the particular embedded application. The optimization algorithm, which implies both process scheduling and optimization of the parameters related to the communication protocol, generates an efficient bus access scheme as well as the schedule tables for activation of processes and communications.

Holistic scheduling and analysis of mixed time/event-triggered distributed embedded systems

This paper deals with specific issues related to the design of distributed embedded systems implemented with mixed, event-triggered and time-triggered task sets, which communicate over bus protocols consisting of both static and dynamic phases. Such systems are emerging as the new standard for automotive applications. We have developed a holistic timing analysis and scheduling approach for this category of systems. We have also identified several new design problems characteristic to such hybrid systems. An example related to bus access optimization in the context of a mixed static/dynamic bus protocol is presented Experimental results prove the efficiency of such an optimization approach.

Design Optimization of Time-and Cost-Constrained Fault-Tolerant Distributed Embedded Systems

In this paper we present an approach to the design optimization of fault tolerant embedded systems for safety-critical applications. Processes are statically scheduled and communications are performed using the time-triggered protocol. We use process re-execution and replication for tolerating transient faults. Our design optimization approach decides the mapping of processes to processors and the assignment of fault-tolerant policies to processes such that transient faults are tolerated and the timing constraints of the application are satisfied. We present several heuristics which are able to find fault-tolerant implementations given a limited amount of resources. The developed algorithms are evaluated using extensive experiments, including a real-life example.

Scheduling and voltage scaling for energy/reliability trade-offs in fault-tolerant time-triggered embedded systems

In this paper we present an approach to the scheduling and voltage scaling of low-power fault-tolerant hard real-time applications mapped on distributed heterogeneous embedded systems. Processes and messages are statically scheduled, and we use process re-execution for recovering from multiple transient faults. Addressing simultaneously energy and reliability is especially challenging because lowering the voltage to reduce the energy consumption has been shown to increase the transient fault rates. In addition, time-redundancy based fault-tolerance techniques such as re-execution and dynamic voltage scaling-based low-power techniques are competing for the slack in the schedules. Our approach decides the voltage levels and start times of processes and the transmission times of messages, such that the transient faults are tolerated, the timing constraints of the application are satisfied and the energy is minimized. We present a constraint logic programming-based approach which is able to find reliable and schedulable implementations within limited energy and hardware resources.

Overhead-conscious voltage selection for dynamic and leakage energy reduction of time-constrained systems

Dynamic voltage scaling and adaptive body biasing have been shown to reduce dynamic and leakage power consumption effectively. In this paper, we optimally solve the combined supply voltage and body bias selection problem for multi-processor systems with imposed time constraints, explicitly taking into account the transition overheads implied by changing voltage levels. Both energy and time overheads are considered. We investigate the continuous voltage scaling as well as its discrete counterpart, and we prove NP-hardness in the discrete case. Furthermore, the continuous voltage scaling problem is formulated and solved using nonlinear programming with polynomial time complexity, while for the discrete problem we use mixed integer linear programming. Extensive experiments, conducted on several benchmarks and a real-life example, are used to validate the approaches.

Formal Verification of SystemC Designs Using a Petri-Net Based Representation

This paper presents an effective approach to formally verify SystemC designs. The approach translates SystemC models into a Petri-Net based representation. The Petri-net model is then used for model checking of properties expressed in a timed formal verification SystemC designs Petri-net model model checking timed temporal logic . The approach is particularly suitable for, but not restricted to, models at a high level of abstraction, such as transaction-level. The efficiency of the approach is illustrated by experiments

Verification of embedded systems using a petri net based representation

The ever increasing complexity of embedded systems consisting of hardware and software components poses a challenge in verifying their correctness. New verification methods that overcome the limitations of traditional techniques and, at the same time, are suitable for hardware/software systems are needed. In this work we formally define the semantics of PRES+, a Petri net based computational model aimed to represent embedded systems. We introduce an approach to formal verification of such systems: we make use of model checking to prove the correctness of embedded systems by determining the truth of CTL and TCTL formulas that specify required properties with respect to a PRES+ model. An ATM server illustrates the feasibility of our approach on practical applications.