Integrated architecture exploration workflow: A NoC-based case study

Compute-intensive applications can greatly benefit from the flexibility of NoC-based heterogeneous multi-core platforms. However, mapping applications on such MPSoC is becoming increasingly complex and requires integrated design flows. We conducted a case study to evaluate the benefits of an integrated design flow for the mapping space exploration of a real telecommunication application on a NoC-based heterogeneous platform. Thanks to the flow, we simulated several virtual platforms and several mappings of our application on each. This approach drastically lowers the required skills and the time needed for design space exploration. An improvement of several weeks have been observed.