Performance Evaluation and Application Development using FPGA-enhanced Cloud Computing Nodes

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The cloud computing paradigm provides users with access over the Internet to large clusters of computingnodes . Cloud computing offers several advantages: Primarily, users benefit by only paying for the computingtime that they need without having to purchase their own equipment. In addition, cloud computing clusters areorganized to make it easy for users to scale up their programs to exploit a large number of computing nodesthat operate in parallel and thus speed up computationally demanding calculations. Finally, cloud computingallows users to bid for computer access at less busy times and benefit from lower fees. In recent years thecapabilities of computing nodes have increased from the inclusion of multiple general-purpose centralprocessing units (CPUs). Also, specialized parallel computers with many simple CPUs, called graphicsprocessing units (GPUs) and which were developed originally to accelerate visual effects, have been used tospeed up more general calculations whose parallel structure matches that of the GPU. Cloud computing nodeshave already adopted those advances. More recently, cloud computing nodes have become available whoseperformance is further enhanced by software re-configurable chips, called field-programmable gate arrays(FPGAs). FPGAs provide an implementation technology that is intermediate in performance and cost betweengeneral-purpose software-programmable CPUs (and GPUs) and full-custom chips that only perform specificcalculations very fast. FPGAs have been widely used as platforms for building hardware accelerators where nosuitable full-custom chip is available. However, it is only recently that FGPAs have been provided in cloudcomputing nodes. This project is a collaboration between the principal investigator (PI) and the sponsoringcompany to investigate a series of promising applications of FPGA-enhanced cloud computing nodes forproblems that build upon the PI's expertise and that are likely to open up new business opportunities for thecompany. The proposed Engage grant funded project would allow Eideticom to benefit from the expertise andengineering time of the PI as well as his graduate students at the University of Alberta.