METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SAFE DEVICE RECONFIGURATION

Abstract: A novel method and corresponding system are provided for safely reconfiguring a portion of a reprogrammable the nets to be reprogrammed, identifying the device drivers that may induce signal contention during or after a new configuration on the identified nets, electrically isolating the identified drivers, and implementing the new configuration.

Description: METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SAFE DEVICE RECONFIGURATION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to the field of reconfiguring reprogrammable logic devices, and more particularly to avoiding signal contention within a partially reprogrammable logic device, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) . BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Signal contention can be defined as the simultaneous driving of two or more different signals across a single electrical conductor. Signal contention can cause a full spectrum of problems, from short-term output errors to full-scale device malfunctions. For example, in reprogrammable logic device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1, simultaneously driving a single "net" 104 in interconnect network 102 with both a 1 and a 0 at any one of the illustrated configurable logic blocks ("CLBs" CLBl, CLB2 , and CLB3) or interconnect points 103 can cause a large current drain. This current drain can heat up the device and possibly burn it out. One available technique for eliminating the risk of interconnect signal contention in reprogrammable logic devices (such as the XC4000 device illustrated in part in FIG. 1, available from Xilinx, Inc., assignee of the present invention) comprises performing a pre- implementation analysis of a software file representing a configuration to be programmed into the device. If the analysis reveals an unacceptable likelihood of signal contention within the intended device, the data file is rejected and cannot be loaded into the device. While this technique is effective for older devices wherein all the memory cells must be re-written in order to change any portion of the configuration of the device, a new generation of partially reprogrammable devices renders this and all other known techniques deficient. Unlike a device that can only be completely reconfigured at any time, reconfiguration of a partially reprogrammable device H cn TJ O PJ li iQ Hi Φ H- Φ n O Φ "<- ø >-3 & rt 0 Φ i Φ μ- PJ H- o 3 Pi O O < Pi Φ S3 Φ ϋ Ml 3 Φ tJ * H- rt fi iQ μ- cn 0 O Φ ϋ 0 rt H- H- 13- rt 0 TJ Φ tr iQ ii Φ O cn i PJ tr μ- o F" ts P. tl P * PJ φ rt Φ li cn O ø rr o rr H- SD 3 H- PJ μ- l-h ø ø • <: O up μ- • <; <! cn 0 φ iQ O I- 1 o ϋ Hi PJ 3 0 Hi Φ rt Pi 0 r tr h- 1 - - Φ rr O Φ ^ Pi PJ 3 •0 ii PJ PJ O Φ 0 μ- i-. ts P I- 1 PJ ii PJ li O n t H- IQ H f-" ii ra φ * PJ rt H φ SD 3 S3 ii PJ rt & Mi ^ H o Φ ii rt Φ isolating those drivers that present a risk of contention, or temporarily isolating the region of the device to be reconfigured from outside drivers. To eliminate the risk of signal contention during reprogramming, the invention comprises the steps of (and structure and means for) identifying the nets to be reprogrammed, identifying the device drivers that may induce signal contention during or after a new configuration on the identified nets, electrically isolating the identified drivers, and implementing the new configuration. In the alternative, the method provides the steps of identifying a region of the device to be reprogrammed, electrically isolating the identified region from drivers outside the region along the border of the identified region, reconfiguring the region, and reintegrating the region into the function of the total device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The aforementioned advantages of the present invention as well as additional advantages thereof will be more clearly understood hereinafter as a result of a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the following drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates an available programmable logic device interconnect matrix. FIG. 2A is a flowchart illustrating a first embodiment of the inventive method. FIG. 2B illustrates a partially reconfigurable device compatible with the method illustrated in FIG. 2A FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an alternative embodiment of the inventive method. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an interconnect network upon which the method of the present invention can be practiced. While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2A shows a flowchart 200 that outlines the steps comprising a first method of the present invention. This method can be practiced, for example, on FPGA 250 of FIG. 2B. In FPGA 250, a device region 255 is targeted for reconfiguration. The targeted device region may, for example, comprise a single memory frame. (A memory frame comprises a physically aligned grouping of memory elements on a programmable device, normally written to as a single unit.) Alternatively, the targeted device region may comprise more than one memory frame. In the method of FIG. 2A, reconfiguration of device 250 takes place in two primary phases. Once the device region 255 to be reconfigured is noted, at step 202 all drivers located within or driving nets that penetrate the region to be reconfigured are identified. At step 204, the drivers identified in step 202 are deactivated through configuration of memory frames, controlling the identified drivers (phase 1) . At step 206, the intended reconfiguration bitstream (the sequence of binary digits used to configure the device, as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains) is loaded into the device, thereby again writing over the memory frames programmed at step 204 (phase 2) . While this method requires twice writing to those memory frames responsible for reconfigured driver function, the method completely addresses the need to eliminate the possibility of temporary contention during configuration when one portion of the device remains active. Flowchart 300 in FIG. 3 graphically illustrates a second inventive approach, wherein a newly-programmed portion of a device interacts with a portion that is not reconfigured, thereby enabling the retention of state and programming information in the portion not reconfigured. First, at step 302, the existing configuration bitstream is obtained. Next, at step 304, the portions of the bitstream corresponding to the portions of the device to be reconfigured are compared to the existing device configuration. At step 306, an analysis is performed to determine whether any signal contention will result from the combination of the existing configuration and the newly configured portions. At step 308, drivers potentially involved in signal contention are cleared as outlined above with reference to FIG. 2. Finally, at step 310, the new bitstream is loaded, since all combinations are now contention-free . FIG. 4 shows a portion of one interconnect network in which the method of the present invention provides contention-free device reconfiguration. FIG. 4 illustrates a portion of a reprogrammable logic device having programmable logic units 440a-d and programmable interconnect segments 403, 405, 407, 409, and 411. At a given point in time, the current configuration of the reprogrammable logic device is contained in memory cells 420a-d, which are organized in frames. In the figure, as shown by dashed vertical lines, three memory cells 420a are in one frame, one memory cell 420b is in a second frame, two memory cells 420c are in a third frame, and two memory cells 42Od are in a fourth frame. Other memory cells in the structure (for example, memory cell 452) are not involved in the reconfiguration. During reconfiguration of this example device, all memory cells in a frame are written simultaneously while other frames remain unchanged. In an initial configuration of the illustrated portion of the device array, frames of configuration data are written so that driver 402 drives interconnect 403, which is connected with pass transistor connections to drive interconnect segments 409 and 405. Multiplexers 450 and 451 are configured to provide the signals carried by interconnect segments 409 and 405 to logic units 440b and 440c, respectively. Reconfiguration of region 430 requires logic unit 440d to drive interconnect 405 into logic unit 440c. If driver 406 is activated, contention may occur between drivers 406 (within the region to be reconfigured) and 402 (outside the region to be reconfigured) across interconnect segments 403 and 405 through point X. In accordance with the method of the invention, the frame corresponding to memory cells 420a is overwritten, disabling driver 402. Drivers of other signals that enter region 430 are also disabled by writing to the appropriate driver configuration memory. Next, region 430 is reconfigured to allow driver 406 to drive interconnect line 405. As part of this reconfiguration, memory cell 420b is turned off to disconnect interconnect 405 from interconnect 403. Finally, driver 402 is turned back on by writing the configuration frame corresponding to the memory cells 420a a second time. In another embodiment of the present invention, first the frame corresponding to memory cell 420b is written to separate interconnects 403 and 405. Then, all configuration cells in region 430 are written. Thus, all memory cells corresponding to wires that cross the boundary into a reconfigured area are configured to disconnect the reconfigured area before reconfiguring that area. After the reconfiguration is complete, the memory cells are rewritten to re-establish connections where needed. In an alternate embodiment, only wires where contention might occur are disconnected. In still another embodiment, the steps for reconfiguring area 430 are ordered so that potential contention is avoided by writing to frames that disconnect interconnect (for example, 420b) before frames that drive segments (for example, memory cells 420c) . Although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications lie within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention. For example, in the embodiment described above, the driver isolation technique need not have the exact characteristics described, but need only protect against identified risk of signal contention across a net in any fashion. Thus, the corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims are intended to include any structure, material, or acts for performing the functions in combination with other elements as specifically claimed.

Claims: CLAIMS What is claimed is : 1. In a reprogrammable logic device having programmable logic units and multiple drivers for delivering logic signals to the logic units, a method of reprogramming the logic units with a new configuration, the method comprising: identifying the logic units to be reprogrammed; identifying the drivers forwarding logic signals to the identified logic units; electrically isolating the identified drivers from the identified logic units; and programming the new configuration into the identified logic units. 2. The method of Claim 1, wherein electrically isolating the identified drivers from the identified logic units includes writing configuration data. 3. The method of Claim 1, wherein identifying the drivers includes identifying all drivers of wire segments driven by a driver in the new configuration. 4. The method of Claim 1, wherein programming the new configuration into the identified logic units comprises: writing only those drivers affiliated with the new configuration to an electrically-isolated state; configuring the remainder of the identified logic units; and writing drivers that will drive in an ON state. 5. In a reprogrammable logic device having programmable logic units and interconnects connecting the programmable logic units to other portions of the device, wherein a first region of the device may be reprogrammed while a second region of the device continues to operate, a method of reprogramming the first region of the device with a new configuration, the method comprising: identifying logic units in the first region to be reprogrammed; identifying drivers in the second region that forward logic signals to the identified logic units in the first region; electrically isolating the identified drivers from the identified logic units; and reprogramming the first region of the device with the new configuration. 6. The method of Claim 5, wherein electrically isolating the identified drivers from the identified logic units includes writing configuration data. 7. The method of Claim 5, wherein identifying drivers includes identifying all drivers of wire segments driven by a driver in the new configuration. 8. The method of Claim 5, wherein reprogramming the first region of the device comprises: writing only those drivers affiliated with the new configuration to an electrically-isolated state; configuring the remainder of .the first region of the device; and writing drivers that will drive in an ON state. 9. A reprogrammable logic device having programmable logic units and multiple drivers for delivering logic signals to the logic units, the logic units being reprogrammable with a new configuration, the device comprising: means for identifying logic units to be reprogrammed; means for identifying drivers forwarding logic signals to the identified logic units; means for electrically isolating the identified drivers from the identified logic units; and means for programming the new configuration into the identified logic units .

Inventors: TRIMBERGER STEPHEN M, TRIMBERGER, STEPHEN, M.
Applicants: XILINX INC, XILINX, INC.
Application year: 2001
Main classification: G06F15
IPC codes: G06F17