Author Archive: mfrickie

HSA Announces Publication of New Guide to Heterogeneous System Architecture

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AUSTIN, TX, Dec. 17, 2015 – The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation today announced publication of Heterogeneous System Architecture: A New Compute Platform Infrastructure (1st Edition), edited by Dr. Wen-Mei Hwu. The book, published by Elsevier Publishing (http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780128008010), offers a practical guide to understanding HSA, a standardized platform design that unlocks the performance and power efficiency of parallel computing engines found in most modern electronic devices.
“Heterogeneous computing is a key enabler of the next generation of compute environments, wherein entire systems will interconnect autonomously and in real time,” said HSA Foundation President Dr. John Glossner. “Developers who are skilled in the use of this platform will have the upper hand in terms of design time, IP portability, power efficiency and performance.”
To support these developers, the HSA Foundation working groups are rapidly standardizing tools and APIs for debug and profiling, creating guidelines for incorporating IP from multiple vendors into the same SoC, and much more. The Foundation released the v1.0 specification in March, and soon thereafter, companies including AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies and MediaTek previewed their plans for rolling out the world’s first products based on HSA.
“The HSA guidebook will help proliferate the platform among students, programmers and developers worldwide,” said Dr. Hwu. “This publication will help them quickly learn more about HSA concepts, fundamentals, and practices, including techniques for creating virtual parallel systems, as well as compiling and simulating designs.”
Through the new book, software application developers, computer science researchers, and students in computer architecture, distributed computing, and software engineering courses will learn:

  • How performance-bound programming algorithms and application types can be significantly optimized by using HSA hardware and software features;
  • Ideal mapping of processing resources from CPUs to many other heterogeneous processors, in compliance with HSA specifications ;
  • Clear and concise explanations of key HSA concepts and fundamentals provided by expert HSA specification contributors.

The book begins with an overview of the evolution of heterogeneous parallel processing and its historic challenges. Later chapters provide a deeper perspective on topics such as runtime, memory model, queuing, context switching, the architected queuing language, simulators, and tool chains. The publication also includes three real world examples that clearly demonstrate how HSA can deliver significantly higher performance thru C++ based applications.
Contributing authors include HSA Foundation members and experts from both academia and industry. Some of these distinguished authors include: Yeh-Ching Chung, Benedict R. Gaster, Juan Gómez-Luna, Derek Hower, Lee Howes, Shih-Hao Hung, Thomas B. Jablin, David Kaeli, Phil Rogers, Ben Sander, I-Jui (Ray) Sung.
About the HSA Foundation
The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a non-profit consortium of SoC IP vendors, OEMs, academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs committed to making programming for parallel computing easy and pervasive. HSA members are building a heterogeneous computing ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, which combines scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU, while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance with low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation using CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, while supporting a diverse set of high-level programming languages, and creating the foundation for next-generation, general-purpose computing. See: www.hsafoundation.com, also follow the HSA Foundation on Twitter.

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Dr. John Glossner Elected President of the HSA Foundation

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AUSTIN, TX, November 04, 2015 – The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation today announced that Dr. John Glossner has been named president. Glossner currently serves as CEO of General Processor Technologies.
The HSA Foundation has had from inception the vision of inclusive computing supporting processors beyond just CPUs and GPUs. The appointment of Glossner, with his background in heterogeneous DSP architectures, reaffirms HSA’s commitment to that vision. Glossner also previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Wireless Innovation Forum.
“I’m honored to help move the HSA Foundation toward the realization of our members’ shared vision of a unified heterogeneous system architecture,” said Glossner. “I look forward to working with all the member companies and appreciate their tremendous support for the Foundation.”
In addition to the appointment of a new Foundation president, there have been a number of other key developments this year. Last month the Foundation previewed several of its members’ plans for supporting HSA in their next-generation products. Products from AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies and MediaTek will be the world’s first that are intended to support HSA and meet any customer-focused technology developed by HSA.
HSA is a standardized platform design that unlocks the performance and power efficiency of the parallel computing engines found in most modern electronic devices. To support these products, HSA Foundation working groups are standardizing tools and APIs for debug and profiling, creating guidelines for incorporating IP from multiple vendors into the same SoC, and much more. The Foundation also released the v1.0 specification in March.
About the HSA Foundation
The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a non-profit consortium of SoC IP vendors, OEMs, Academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs, whose goal is making programming for parallel computing easy and pervasive. HSA members are building a heterogeneous computing ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, which combines scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU, while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance with low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation using CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, while supporting a diverse set of high-level programming languages, and creating the foundation for next-generation, general-purpose computing.
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/11/3/11G070454/Images/HSAFJohnGlossner-ea39abe42b1ba6b583663d54964c7d8f.jpg

HSA Conformance Test Suite Now Available to Members

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Following the release of the v1.0 specification in March 2015, HSA Conformance tests are now available online. HSA Foundation members can access these tests to ensure compliance of their HSA products with the specification.
According to Dr. Jon Peddie of Jon Peddie Research: “After the HSA’s successful release of the v1.0 specification in March 2015, the organization went to work on developing conformance tests. Conformance testing is critical to a meaningful HSA certification, and now that is in place too. This firmly and permanently establishes the organization’s place in the industry.”

Best Wishes to Phil Rogers

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The HSA Foundation would like to thank Phil Rogers for his four years of service to the HSA Foundation. The Foundation greatly appreciates his mentoring the next generation of leaders who will help usher in widespread acceptance and adoption of heterogeneous computing. The HSA Foundation community of leaders and members will continue to collaborate making programming for parallel computing easy and pervasive. We wish Phil the best in his new endeavors.
– HSA Foundation Board of Directors

HSA Foundation Members Preview Plans for Heterogeneous Platforms

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SANTA CLARA, CA, Oct. 6, 2015 – The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation today previewed several of its members’ plans for supporting HSA in their next-generation products. Products from AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies and MediaTek will be the world’s first that are based on HSA, a standardized platform design that unlocks the performance and power efficiency of the parallel computing engines found in most modern electronic devices.
HSA allows developers to easily and efficiently apply the hardware resources in today’s complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). It will enable applications to run faster and at lower power across the range of computing platforms spanning mobile devices, desktops, high-performance computing (HPC) systems and servers.
Following the release of the v1.0 specification in March 2015, conformance tests are now available online to members who are testing their platforms in preparation for HSA certification. To support these products, HSA Foundation working groups are standardizing tools and APIs for debug and profiling, creating guidelines for incorporating IP from multiple vendors into the same SoC, and much more.
“These are exciting times for the industry as companies prepare to introduce the first HSA products,” said Greg Stoner, managing director of the HSA Foundation, and senior director, computing technology for AMD. “As we draw ever closer to pervasive adoption of heterogeneous computing, devices will be able to run applications at much higher performance and lower power, providing an opportunity for developers to create incredible new applications across computing platforms.”
“After the HSA’s successful release of the v1.0 specification in March 2015, the organization went to work on developing conformance tests,” said Dr. Jon Peddie of Jon Peddie Research. “Conformance testing is critical to a meaningful HSA certification, and now that is in place too. This firmly and permanently establishes the organization’s place in the industry.”
HSA Foundation members lay out their plans
AMD recently launched the world’s first processors designed to support the full set of HSA features with their SoC products targeting the desktop and laptop PC markets. “AMD is thrilled to be amongst the first companies shipping products designed to fully support the HSA Foundation standards with the introduction of the 6th generation A-series processor (code-named “Carrizo”),” said Stoner. “We see HSA as the right technical direction for the industry to fully utilize the capabilities of modern SoCs to deliver improved performance, power utilization and programmability.”
“As a founding member of the HSA foundation, ARM has worked with our fellow members to develop specifications that enable hardware and software to take advantage of both CPU and GPU compute,” said Jem Davies, vice president of technology, media processing group, ARM. “ARM is actively developing CPU, GPU and interconnect IP with energy efficiency and full system coherency as guiding design principles while extending the system capabilities aligned with HSA coherency standards.”
Imagination is planning a staged rollout of HSA across its processors starting in 2016. This includes MIPS I-class and P-class CPUs, PowerVR GPUs and HSA compliant fabric solutions. According to Peter McGuinness, director of multimedia technology marketing for Imagination, “Because it provides a consistent programming model and enables efficient execution on CPUs, GPUs and beyond, HSA is an important standard for future SoCs. Imagination has played a key role in developing the HSA specifications as a founder member of the HSA Foundation. HSA holds the promise of enabling developers to write software that makes the most of our future heterogeneous platforms targeting a range of devices including mobile and tablets, vision systems, automotive, and more.”
MediaTek is working with partners in developing HSA features on mobile SoCs. The company is already receiving interest in HSA from customers, and is on track to deliver HSA features in mobile SoC products in phases. “MediaTek is a firm believer in the value of heterogeneous computing and a strong supporter of the good work of the HSA Foundation. We are working to leverage this technology into our products to provide even better end user experience,” said Giri Amarakone, senior director, marketing and business development, MediaTek.
General Processor Technologies (GPT) is sponsoring an open source project to expand HSA tools support to the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) by enabling HSA Intermediate Language (HSAIL) binary format (BRIG) translation for GCC. “We’re delighted to be involved in creating a foundational tools ecosystem for HSA. Through the project we’re sponsoring, heterogeneous processors may benefit from kernel agent support and the vector/SIMD optimizations in GCC,” said Dr. John Glossner, CEO of General Processor Technologies.
As companies roll out their HSA platforms, hardware and software learnings will be quickly integrated into the HSA specifications. The v1.1 specification will be available in the first quarter of 2016 and will be backward compatible with v1.0.
About the HSA Foundation
The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a non-profit consortium of SoC IP vendors, OEMs, Academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs, whose goal is making programming for parallel computing easy and pervasive. HSA members are building a heterogeneous computing ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, which combines scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU, while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance with low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation using CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, while supporting a diverse set of high-level programming languages, and creating the foundation for next-generation, general-purpose computing.
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HSA Foundation at Linley Processor Conference

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Please join us for the session “Heterogeneous Systems Architecture:
Coming Soon to a Platform Near You”, which will take on Tuesday, October 6th @ 10:50pm-12:30pm PT. Jim Nicholas, Vice President MIPS Business Operations, Imagination Technologies, on behalf of the HSA Foundation will describe HSA, the HSA Foundation and its work to date.

HSA Foundation Launches New Era of Pervasive, Energy-Efficient Computing with HSA 1.0 Specification Release

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SAN JOSE, California, March 16, 2015 – The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundationtodayannounced a major milestone with its release of the 1.0 HSA specification, which brings the technology industry one step closer to true heterogeneous computing on platforms spanning mobile devices, desktops, high-performance computing (HPC) systems and servers.
HSA is a standardized platform design supported by more than 40 technology companies and 17 universities that unlocks the performance and power efficiency of the parallel computing engines found in most modern electronic devices. It allows developers to easily and efficiently apply the hardware resources in today’s complex systems-on-chip (SOCs).
“Through HSA, we are working to ensure that end users of technology live in a world of new, incredible applications that run fast at low power,” said Phil Rogers, president of the HSA Foundation. “The Foundation members have been collaborating on this project since we joined together in June 2012, and we are thrilled to be delivering the fruit of that labor today.”
The newly-approved specification comprises the key elements that improve the programmability of heterogeneous processors, the portability of programming code and interoperability across different vendor devices. These include:

  • The HSA System Architecture Specification, which defines how the hardware operates;
  • The HSA Programmers Reference Manual (PRM), which targets the software ecosystem, tool and compiler developers;
  • The HSA Runtime Specification, which defines how applications interact with HSA platforms.

“HSA specification 1.0 includes several crucial features for efficient implementation of productive high-level languages, such as C++, Java and Python on heterogeneous computing hardware,” said Professor Wen-Mei Hwu, CTO, Multicoreware, and Professor, Computer Engineering, UIUC. “Such enhancement of programmability will make the benefit of heterogeneous computing available to mainstream, mobile and server applications.”
“HSA has been remarkably well accepted and supported,” added Jon Peddie, who heads Jon Peddie Research, a computer graphics market research and management consulting firm. “The specification has answered an obvious need in the industry, which is reflected in its growing membership.”
“Release of the new specification should help improve more power efficient computing performance across a wide array of computing platforms,” said Patrick Moorhead, who leads market research firm Moor Insights & Strategy. “I anticipate a lot of interesting use cases, from video chat apps and search to TV shows and movies. App developers should also find it easier to harness all of the processors together.”
The specification was officially launched today during the HSA 1.0 launch event held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California. The event featured a panel discussion among HSA Foundation board members, including AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies, LG, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Samsung. A developer panel of industry luminaries discussing software, the ecosystem and applications in the mobile, PC and HPC computing was also featured.
Additional Resources:

Supporting Quotes
AMD
“HSA 1.0 is an idea whose time has come. It gives developers easier access to the power-efficient performance on today’s rich SoCs than ever before, freeing them to find creative solutions to compute’s toughest challenges. AMD intends to bring processors which incorporate the architecture described in the specification to market in 2015 and help lead the industry into the new era of heterogeneous computing.”
–Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, AMD
ARM
“Heterogeneous computing is playing an increasing role in system design. HSA systems will enable energy-efficient interoperation between multiple processor types to take full advantage of next-generation SoCs.”
– Jem Davies, vice president of technology, media processing group, ARM
Imagination Technologies
“The future of computing will be based around heterogeneous platforms, and software APIs will be essential in their creation. As a co-founder of the HSA Foundation, Imagination is pleased to have played a key role in developing the new specifications. These specifications will enable interoperability across devices, and will let developers write software that makes the most of future coherent heterogeneous hardware platforms that include our PowerVR GPUs and MIPS CPUs.”
– John Min, director of processor technology marketing, Imagination Technologies
LG Electronics
“HSA will address the current needs of efficient computing, enabling consumers to take full benefit of maximizing the overall performance in their smart devices. We are looking forward to enhancing our SoC technologies in the partnership with HSA.”
– SJ Choi, senior vice president, LG Electronics
MediaTek
“MediaTek has been leveraging heterogeneous computing resources available in SoCs, and was one of the first to productize mainstream heterogeneous applications, including 2D-to-3D, video face beautifier, video stabilization in MT6589 and stereo camera features in MT6785. HSA allows us to move to the next step of heterogeneous computing with the ease of conventional programming and superior power efficiency.”
– Giri Amarakone, senior director, marketing and business development, MediaTek
Qualcomm
“Qualcomm Technologies Inc. is developing new, low power, heterogeneous computing technologies for Qualcomm® Hexagon TM DSP, Qualcomm® AdrenoTM GPU and custom CPU micro architectures. We believe that application developers for mobile and “Internet of Everything” devices can deliver innovative experiences on Qualcomm® Snapdragon TM processors if certain aspects of heterogeneous computing are standardized. Together with operating system companies and various standards committees including the HSA Foundation, of which QTI is a founding member, we are collaborating with many industry players to help define open standards that are beneficial for these types of new opportunities.”
– Tim Leland, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
Samsung
“Samsung is pursuing the best products in the world, such as application processors and smart phones for the mobile market. Heterogeneous system architecture is a good candidate for building efficient systems and the release of the 1.0 HSA specification will help Samsung achieve its goals in a more efficient way.”
– Jay Kim, vice president, Samsung Electronics
About the HSA Foundation
The HSA (Heterogeneous System Architecture) Foundation is a non-profit consortium of SoC IP vendors, OEMs, Academia, SoC vendors, OSVs and ISVs, whose goal is making programming for parallel computing easy and pervasive. HSA members are building a heterogeneous computing ecosystem, rooted in industry standards, which combines scalar processing on the CPU with parallel processing on the GPU, while enabling high bandwidth access to memory and high application performance with low power consumption. HSA defines interfaces for parallel computation using CPU, GPU and other programmable and fixed function devices, while supporting a diverse set of high-level programming languages, and creating the foundation for next-generation, general-purpose computing.
Contact:
Neal Leavitt
Leavitt Communications
(760) 639-2900
neal@leavcom.com