Abstract: Using a flat shell for an accelerator card includes reading a flat shell from one or more computer readable storage media using computer hardware, wherein the flat shell is a synthesized, unplaced, and unrouted top-level circuit design specifying platform circuitry. A kernel specifying user circuitry is synthesized using the computer hardware. The kernel is obtained from the one or more computer readable storage media. The synthesized kernel is linked, using the computer hardware, to the flat shell forming a unified circuit design. The unified circuit design is placed and routed, using the computer hardware, to generate a placed and routed circuit design specifying the platform circuitry and the user circuitry for implementation in an integrated circuit.

Abstract: Using a flat shell for an accelerator card includes reading a flat shell from one or more computer readable storage media using computer hardware, wherein the flat shell is a synthesized, unplaced, and unrouted top-level circuit design specifying platform circuitry. A kernel specifying user circuitry is synthesized using the computer hardware. The kernel is obtained from the one or more computer readable storage media. The synthesized kernel is linked, using the computer hardware, to the flat shell forming a unified circuit design. The unified circuit design is placed and routed, using the computer hardware, to generate a placed and routed circuit design specifying the platform circuitry and the user circuitry for implementation in an integrated circuit.

Abstract: Changing accelerator card images without rebooting a host system includes receiving, within an integrated circuit (IC) of an accelerator card, an address of a platform image stored in a non-volatile memory of the accelerator card. The address is received over a communication link between the host system and the accelerator card while the communication link is connected. Changing accelerator card images includes detecting, within a register of the IC, that a warm boot enable flag is set and that the communication link with the host system is disconnected. In response to detecting that the warm boot enable flag is set and that the communication link is disconnected, loading of the platform image from the address of the non-volatile memory into the integrated circuit is initiated.

Abstract: A hardware acceleration device can include a switch communicatively linked to a host central processing unit (CPU), an adapter coupled to the switch via a control bus, wherein the control bus is configured to convey addresses of descriptors from the host central CPU to the adapter, and a random-access memory (RAM) coupled to the switch through a data bus. The RAM is configured to store descriptors received from the host CPU via the data bus. The hardware acceleration device can include a compute unit coupled to the adapter and configured to perform operations specified by the descriptors. The adapter may be configured to retrieve the descriptors from the RAM via the data bus, provide arguments from the descriptors to the compute unit, and provide control signals to the compute unit to initiate the operations using the arguments.

Abstract: A hardware acceleration device can include a switch communicatively linked to a host central processing unit (CPU), an adapter coupled to the switch via a control bus, wherein the control bus is configured to convey addresses of descriptors from the host central CPU to the adapter, and a random-access memory (RAM) coupled to the switch through a data bus. The RAM is configured to store descriptors received from the host CPU via the data bus. The hardware acceleration device can include a compute unit coupled to the adapter and configured to perform operations specified by the descriptors. The adapter may be configured to retrieve the descriptors from the RAM via the data bus, provide arguments from the descriptors to the compute unit, and provide control signals to the compute unit to initiate the operations using the arguments.

Abstract: Diagnosing applications that use hardware acceleration can include emulating, using a processor, a kernel designated for hardware acceleration by executing a device program binary implementing a register transfer level simulator for the kernel. The device program binary is executed in coordination with a host binary and a static circuitry binary. During the emulation, error conditions may be detected using diagnostic program code of the static circuitry binary. The error conditions may relate to memory access violations or kernel deadlocks. A notification of error conditions may be output.

Abstract: Emulating a heterogeneous application having a kernel designated for hardware acceleration may include compiling, using a processor, host program code into a host binary configured to execute in a first process of a computing system and generating, using the processor, a device program binary implementing a register transfer level simulator using the kernel. The device program binary may be configured to execute in a second, different process of the computing system. A high level programming language model of static circuitry of a programmable integrated circuit that couples to a circuit implementation of the kernel may be compiled into a static circuitry binary. The static circuitry binary may be used by the register transfer level simulator during emulation.