GOAHEAD: A Partial Reconfiguration Framework

Exploiting the benefits of partial run-time reconfiguration requires efficient tools. In this paper, we introduce the tool GOAHEAD that is able to implement run-time reconfigurable systems for all recent Xilinx FPGAs. This includes in particular support for low cost and low power Spartan-6 FPGAs. GoAhead assists during floorplanning and automates the constraint generation. It interacts with the Xilinx vendor tools and triggers the physical implementation phases all the way down to the final configuration bitstreams. GOAHEAD enables the building of flexible systems for integrating many reconfigurable modules very efficiently into a system. The tool targets (re) usability, portability to future devices, and migration paths among reconfigurable systems featuring different FPGAs or even FPGA families. Moreover, it provides a scripting interface and all features can be accessed remotely.