Policies of System Level Pipeline Modeling

Abstract: Pipelining is a well understood and often used implementation technique for increasing the performance of a hardware system. We develop several SystemC/C++ modeling techniques that allow us to quickly model, simulate, and evaluate pipelines. We employ a small domain specific language (DSL) based on resource usage patterns that automates the drudgery of boilerplate code needed to configure connectivity in simulation models. The DSL is embedded directly in the host modeling language SystemC/C++. Additionally we develop several techniques for parameterizing a pipeline's behavior based on policies of function, communication, and timing (performance modeling).