Pipeline for Performance
The next stage in creating a high-performance design is to pipeline the functions, loops, and operations. Pipelining results in the greatest level of concurrency and the highest level of performance. The following table shows the directives you can use for pipelining.
| Directives and Configurations | Description |
|---|---|
| PIPELINE | Reduces the initiation interval by allowing the concurrent execution of operations within a loop or function. |
| DATAFLOW | Enables task level pipelining, allowing functions and loops to execute concurrently. Used to minimize interval. |
| RESOURCE | Specifies pipelining on the hardware resource used to implement a variable (array, arithmetic operation). |
| Config Compile | Allows loops to be automatically pipelined based on their iteration count when using the bottom-up flow. |
At this stage of the optimization process, you want to create as much concurrent operation as possible. You can apply the PIPELINE directive to functions and loops. You can use the DATAFLOW directive at the level that contains the functions and loops to make them work in parallel. Although rarely required, the RESOURCE directive can be used to squeeze out the highest levels of performance.
A recommended strategy is to work from the bottom up and be aware of the following:
- Some functions and loops contain sub-functions. If the sub-function is not pipelined, the function above it might show limited improvement when it is pipelined. The non-pipelined sub-function will be the limiting factor.
- Some functions and loops contain sub-loops. When you use the PIPELINE directive, the directive automatically unrolls all loops in the hierarchy below. This can create a great deal of logic. It might make more sense to pipeline the loops in the hierarchy below.
- For cases where it does make sense to pipeline the upper hierarchy and unroll any loops lower in the hierarchy, loops with variable bounds cannot be unrolled, and any loops and functions in the hierarchy above these loops cannot be pipelined. To address this issue, pipeline these loops wih variable bounds, and use the DATAFLOW optimization to ensure the pipelined loops operate concurrently to maximize the performance of the tasks that contains the loops. Alternatively, rewrite the loop to remove the variable bound. Apply a maximum upper bound with a conditional break.
The basic strategy at this point in the optimization process is to pipeline the tasks (functions and loops) as much as possible. For detailed information on which functions and loops to pipeline, refer toHardware Function Pipeline Strategies.
Although not commonly used, you can also apply pipelining at the operator level. For example, wire routing in the FPGA can introduce large and unanticipated delays that make it difficult for the design to be implemented at the required clock frequency. In this case, you can use the RESOURCE directive to pipeline specific operations such as multipliers, adders, and block RAM to add additional pipeline register stages at the logic level and allow the hardware function to process data at the highest possible performance level without the need for recursion.