Software Development For Embedded Multi Core Systems

The multicore revolution has reached the deployment stage in embedded systems ranging from small ultramobile devices to large telecommunication servers. The transition from single to multicore processors, motivated by the need to increase performance while conserving power, has placed great responsibility on the shoulders of software engineers. In this new embedded multicore era, the toughest task is the development of code to support more sophisticated systems. This book provides embedded engineers with solid grounding in the skills required to develop software targeting multicore processors. Within the text, the author undertakes an in-depth exploration of performance analysis, and a close-up look at the tools of the trade. Both general multicore design principles and processor-specific optimization techniques are revealed. Detailed coverage of critical issues for multicore employment within embedded systems is provided, including the Threading Development Cycle, with discussions of analysis, design, development, debugging, and performance tuning of threaded applications. Software development techniques engendering optimal mobility and energy efficiency are highlighted through multiple case studies, which provide practical “how-to advice on implementing the latest multicore processors. Finally, future trends are discussed, including terascale, speculative multithreading, transactional memory, interconnects, and the software-specific implications of these looming architectural developments. Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 – Basic System and Processor Architecture Chapter 3 – Multi-core Processors & Embedded Chapter 4 –Moving To Multi-core Intel Architecture Chapter 5 – Scalar Optimization & Usability Chapter 6 – Parallel Optimization Using Threads Chapter 7 - Case Study: Data Decomposition Chapter 8 - Case Study: Functional Decomposition Chapter 9 – Virtualization & Partitioning Chapter 10 – Getting Ready For Low Power Intel Architecture Chapter 11 - Summary, Trends, and Conclusions Appendix I Glossary References *This is the only book to explain software optimization for embedded multi-core systems *Helpful tips, tricks and design secrets from an Intel programming expert, with detailed examples using the popular X86 architecture *Covers hot topics, including ultramobile devices, low-power designs, Pthreads vs. OpenMP, and heterogeneous cores

The multicore revolution has reached the deployment stage in embedded systems ranging from small ultramobile devices to large telecommunication servers. The transition from single to multicore processors, motivated by the need to increase performance while conserving power, has placed great responsibility on the shoulders of software engineers. In this new embedded multicore era, the toughest task is the development of code to support more sophisticated systems. This book provides embedded engineers with solid grounding in the skills required to develop software targeting multicore processors. Within the text, the author undertakes an in-depth exploration of performance analysis, and a close-up look at the tools of the trade. Both general multicore design principles and processor-specific optimization techniques are revealed. Detailed coverage of critical issues for multicore employment within embedded systems is provided, including the Threading Development Cycle, with discussions of analysis, design, development, debugging, and performance tuning of threaded applications. Software development techniques engendering optimal mobility and energy efficiency are highlighted through multiple case studies, which provide practical 'how-to' advice on implementing the latest multicore processors. Finally, future trends are discussed, including terascale, speculative multithreading, transactional memory, interconnects, and the software-specific implications of these looming architectural developments. Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction Chapter 2 - Basic System and Processor Architecture Chapter 3 - Multi-core Processors & Embedded Chapter 4 -Moving To Multi-core Intel Architecture Chapter 5 - Scalar Optimization & Usability Chapter 6 - Parallel Optimization Using Threads Chapter 7 - Case Study: Data Decomposition Chapter 8 - Case Study: Functional Decomposition Chapter 9 - Virtualization & Partitioning Chapter 10 - Getting Ready For Low Power Intel Architecture Chapter 11 - Summary, Trends, and Conclusions Appendix I Glossary References *This is the only book to explain software optimization for embedded multi-core systems *Helpful tips, tricks and design secrets from an Intel programming expert, with detailed examples using the popular X86 architecture *Covers hot topics, including ultramobile devices, low-power designs, Pthreads vs. OpenMP, and heterogeneous cores.

Multicore software development is growing in importance and applicability in many areas of embedded systems from automotive to networking, to wireless base stations. This chapter is a summary of key sections of the recently released Multicore Programming Practices (MPP) from the Multicore Association (MCA). The MPP standardized “best practices” guide is written specifically for engineers and engineering managers of companies considering or implementing a development project involving multicore processors and favoring use of existing multicore technology. There is an important need to better understand how today’s C/C++ code may be written to be “multicore ready”, and this was accomplished under the influence of the MPP working group. The guide will enable you to (a) produce higher-performing software; (b) reduce the bug rate due to multicore software issues; (c) develop portable multicore code which can be targeted at multiple platforms; (d) reduce the multicore programming learning curve and speed up development time; and (e) tie into the current structure and roadmap of the Multicore Association’s API infrastructure.

The proliferation of multicore processors in the embedded market for Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) makes developing real-time embedded applications increasingly difficult. What is the underlying theory that makes multicore real-time possible? How does theory influence application design? When is a real-time operating system (RTOS) useful? What RTOS features do applications need? How does a mature RTOS help manage the complexity of multicore hardware? Real-Time Systems Development with RTEMS and Multicore Processors answers these questions and more with exemplar Real-Time Executive for Multiprocessor Systems (RTEMS) RTOS to provide concrete advice and examples for constructing useful, feature-rich applications. RTEMS is free, open-source software that supports multi-processor systems for over a dozen CPU architectures and over 150 specific system boards in applications spanning the range of IoT and CPS domains such as satellites, particle accelerators, robots, racing motorcycles, building controls, medical devices, and more. The focus of this book is on enabling real-time embedded software engineering while providing sufficient theoretical foundations and hardware background to understand the rationale for key decisions in RTOS and application design and implementation. The topics covered in this book include: Cross-compilation for embedded systems development Concurrent programming models used in real-time embedded software Real-time scheduling theory and algorithms used in wide practice Usage and comparison of two application programmer interfaces (APIs) in real-time embedded software: POSIX and the RTEMS Classic APIs Design and implementation in RTEMS of commonly found RTOS features for schedulers, task management, time-keeping, inter-task synchronization, inter-task communication, and networking The challenges introduced by multicore hardware, advances in multicore real-time theory, and software engineering multicore real-time systems with RTEMS All the authors of this book are experts in the academic field of real-time embedded systems. Two of the authors are primary open-source maintainers of the RTEMS software project.

Details a real-world product that applies a cutting-edge multi-core architecture Increasingly demanding modern applications—such as those used in telecommunications networking and real-time processing of audio, video, and multimedia streams—require multiple processors to achieve computational performance at the rate of a few giga-operations per second. This necessity for speed and manageable power consumption makes it likely that the next generation of embedded processing systems will include hundreds of cores, while being increasingly programmable, blending processors and configurable hardware in a power-efficient manner. Multi-Core Embedded Systems presents a variety of perspectives that elucidate the technical challenges associated with such increased integration of homogeneous (processors) and heterogeneous multiple cores. It offers an analysis that industry engineers and professionals will need to understand the physical details of both software and hardware in embedded architectures, as well as their limitations and potential for future growth. Discusses the available programming models spread across different abstraction levels The book begins with an overview of the evolution of multiprocessor architectures for embedded applications and discusses techniques for autonomous power management of system-level parameters. It addresses the use of existing open-source (and free) tools originating from several application domains—such as traffic modeling, graph theory, parallel computing and network simulation. In addition, the authors cover other important topics associated with multi-core embedded systems, such as: Architectures and interconnects Embedded design methodologies Mapping of applications

This book provides a set of practical processes and techniques used for multicore software development. It is written with a focus on solving day to day problems using practical tips and tricks and industry case studies to reinforce the key concepts in multicore software development. Coverage includes: The multicore landscape Principles of parallel computing Multicore SoC architectures Multicore programming models The Multicore development process Multicore programming with threads Concurrency abstraction layers Debugging Multicore Systems Practical techniques for getting started in multicore development Case Studies in Multicore Systems Development Sample code to reinforce many of the concepts discussed Presents the ‘nuts and bolts’ of programming a multicore system Provides a short-format book on the practical processes and techniques used in multicore software development Covers practical tips, tricks and industry case studies to enhance the learning process

Efficient software development requires adequate toolsets to assist the developer in analyzing and optimizing a software application’s performance. With the relatively recent advent of multicore embedded hardware platforms, toolsets for supporting multicore development have appeared, although, in some cases, capabilities may be missing or immature, leaving software developers to manually massage outputs from one tool into inputs for the next tool or struggling to investigate unexpected multicore behaviors. This section reviews those multicore tools currently available for software developers as well as those that are still needed for adequate support.

Details a real-world product that applies a cutting-edge multi-core architecture Increasingly demanding modern applications—such as those used in telecommunications networking and real-time processing of audio, video, and multimedia streams—require multiple processors to achieve computational performance at the rate of a few giga-operations per second. This necessity for speed and manageable power consumption makes it likely that the next generation of embedded processing systems will include hundreds of cores, while being increasingly programmable, blending processors and configurable hardware in a power-efficient manner. Multi-Core Embedded Systems presents a variety of perspectives that elucidate the technical challenges associated with such increased integration of homogeneous (processors) and heterogeneous multiple cores. It offers an analysis that industry engineers and professionals will need to understand the physical details of both software and hardware in embedded architectures, as well as their limitations and potential for future growth. Discusses the available programming models spread across different abstraction levels The book begins with an overview of the evolution of multiprocessor architectures for embedded applications and discusses techniques for autonomous power management of system-level parameters. It addresses the use of existing open-source (and free) tools originating from several application domains—such as traffic modeling, graph theory, parallel computing and network simulation. In addition, the authors cover other important topics associated with multi-core embedded systems, such as: Architectures and interconnects Embedded design methodologies Mapping of applications