Service Mapping Component Hardware Software Plane Integration

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Solution Overview

Problem

The computing industry faces challenges in integrating software-driven computing devices with hardware acceleration components due to their differing architectures, performance characteristics, and design requirements, making it difficult to effectively utilize hardware acceleration in data processing systems.

Innovation Solution

A service mapping component (SMC) is introduced to allocate services to hardware acceleration components based on various mapping considerations such as service level agreements, load-balancing, and availability, allowing software-driven host components to access services provided by hardware acceleration components efficiently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If hardware acceleration components are integrated into data processing systems, then processing speed and efficiency are improved, but system complexity increases due to architectural differences between software-driven devices and hardware components

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing speedVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A service mapping component is introduced as an intermediary layer between software-driven host components and hardware acceleration components. This mediator translates service requests from the software plane into appropriate hardware operations, managing the complexity of integration while enabling efficient resource utilization. The service mapping component handles architecture translation, resource allocation, and coordination without requiring changes to the underlying hardware or software architectures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If hardware acceleration components are used to improve processing efficiency, then resource utilization improves, but difficulty in allocation and management increases due to differing performance characteristics and design requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource utilizationVSAvoidallocation difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The service mapping component provides a universal interface that works with multiple types of hardware acceleration components (FPGAs, GPUs, ASICs) through a common service-based paradigm. It translates diverse hardware capabilities into standardized service operations, enabling unified management and allocation across heterogeneous hardware platforms without requiring component-specific management logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system transforms hardware resource management from a low-level parameter-based approach (direct hardware control) to a high-level service-based approach. By changing the management paradigm from hardware-specific parameters to abstract service operations, the system simplifies allocation and management while maintaining efficient resource utilization across different hardware platforms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Device complexity

If software-driven computing devices process instructions in a conventional temporal manner, then system simplicity is maintained, but processing speed and efficiency deteriorate due to power limitations

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidprocessing speed
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The processing system is segmented into two distinct planes: a software plane for control and coordination, and a hardware acceleration plane for high-speed processing. This segmentation allows software-driven devices to maintain their simple temporal processing model while offloading computationally intensive tasks to hardware components that can execute operations in parallel, thereby improving overall processing speed without complicating the software control logic.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3283953B1Providing services in a system having a hardware acceleration plane and a software plane
Publication Date: 2021.08.04 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3283953B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3283953B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP3283953B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A service mapping component (SMC) is described herein for allocating services to hardware acceleration components in a data processing system based on different kinds of triggering events. The data processing system is characterized by a hardware acceleration plane that is made up of the hardware acceleration components, together with a software plane that is made up of a plurality of software-driven host components. The SMC is configured to select, in response to a triggering event, at least one hardware acceleration component in the hardware plane to perform a service, based on at least one mapping consideration and based on availability information. Each host component in the software plane is then configured to access the service on one or more of the selected hardware acceleration component(s) via an associated local hardware acceleration component, or via some other route.