Virtualisation for FPGA Accelerators. Information and communication technologies: ICT Networks & Distributed Systems

EPSRC Remit: Information and communication technologies: ICT Networks & Distributed Systems

FPGAs have demonstrated use in a wide range of application domains, from embedded to data centre scale. One of their key strengths is the close coupling of communication and computation that offers alternative ways of thinking about system properties such as responsiveness and security. As energy efficiency becomes more important, and increasing connectivity is driven by scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT), we have an opportunity to re-evaluate methods for implementing computation on FPGAs that have traditionally been viewed as alternatives to other silicon technologies. Most FPGA systems today are designed as single point solutions. To embed FPGAs more effectively in networked systems, we must support methods for virtualising computation on them to allow more dynamic and adaptive use, and to enable them to be deployed in wider contexts, such as the cloud. This project explores ways of building abstractions on top of FPGAs to enable fast compilation, rapid deployment and adaptive reconfiguration in a range of networked contexts, with exploration of security and reliability in such systems. This builds on cutting edge research in overlay architectures, partial reconfiguration, smart network controllers and interface platforms.