Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 7.1
Particularities of DS2 use case
Particularity
Effect on the analysis
The platform is less computing-intensive than
the other use cases defined within the project
The metrics to analyze are different from the
other use case
The focus of the optimization phase is put on
cost-effectiveness of the final solution and
not really on its final performance
The metrics are more difficult to measure since
they can rely on subjective analysis
The structure of the use case is data flow
oriented. The optimization is done over
the control of this data flow
The simulation results rely strongly on the data
flow contents and behavior
Many parameters of the platform are fixed by
the standard or by legacy hardware
Less freedom to choose some of the parameters
The optimization procedure was already
semi-automatic in past designs
The evaluation procedure is different from
other use cases
7.2.2
Platform Description
7.2.2.1
STORM Platform Description
One of the applications that will be used for testing the new developments in MUL-
TICUBE will be a communication system based on the novel ITU-T G.hn wired
networking standard ratified early 2010. This effort is aimed to provide support for
networking over power lines, phone lines and coaxial cables using the same standard
and similar components. For each of the physical layers, an optimized set of param-
eters will be used, demonstrating the necessity of a powerful optimization tool for
fine tuning the chipset for each application. In MULTICUBE project, DS2 makes use
of a virtual platform that describes at a high level of abstraction both the hardware
and software components of a G.hn system. This platform, named STORM, models
such a new system in high level SystemC-TLM making use of SCoPE technology
for HW/SW integration. In this model, all the parameters can be configured in order
to stress them and find the most suitable combination.
The platform created is a fundamental step in the process of creating a new chipset
for powerline communication following ITU G.hn standard. In this sense, the goal
of this platform is multiple, considering the needs of all the persons that are using it.
These needs are listed in Table
7.2
.
Each of these actors are looking for a different result from the platform opti-
mization, however, each of them can make use of the methodologies advancements
provided by MULTICUBE. In any case, for the purposes of this demonstration, we
only focus on the system designer's perspective since they will benefit the most with
the metric optimization procedures provided by the project.
As mentioned before, G.hn layers are specified in the STORM platform with a
SystemC-TLM. The following rules have been followed in order to maximize the
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