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Commits
| Author | SHA1 | Message | Date | |
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  micheleandClaude Sonnet 5
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63cac6a7e5 |
perf(v2): shared activation cache - further 1.66-2.00x real speedup (DEC-0016)
Implements optimization #2 from the final benchmark campaign's own recommendation, on top of DEC-0015's word-level burst rewrite: a new shared activation_cache.v module fetches a given activation (X) vector from PSRAM once instead of once per neuron sharing it - the exact redundant traffic pattern the dense-layer workloads in this project's benchmark suite exhibit. Each memory_manager's own prefetch_engine now fetches WEIGHTS only; the activation half is requested from the shared cache instead (single-tag, tile-granular, N_SLOTS request ports, its own real word-level PSRAM backend via a new dedicated arbiter port). dataflow_core.v/slot_mem_arbiter.v/neural_multiprocessor.v widened to N_SLOTS+1 ports to arbitrate the cache's traffic alongside each slot's weight traffic. Two real bugs found and fixed during implementation (ERR-0010): a target-bank/pending-bank race in memory_manager.v's activation-cache wiring (the same bug class ERR-0006 already fixed once for pf_target_bank - a later handoff's queued request can overwrite which bank an earlier, still-in-flight request's ack applies to), and a repeat of ERR-0009's N_SLOTS=1 zero-width replication bug in activation_cache.v itself. Real, measured results: the full final-benchmark campaign (24/24 workload/config combinations) re-verified bit-exact. D-Stress cycles fall a further 1.66-2.00x on top of DEC-0015 (~4x combined vs the original byte-level baseline). But the cache's real Fmax cost is much steeper than DEC-0015's own: N_SLOTS=2 (the recommended default, DEC-0014) drops from 133.58 to 87.72 MHz (-34%, margin over 80MHz shrinks from +67% to +9.7%), and N_SLOTS=4 drops to 65.01 MHz - now FAILING the 80MHz target it previously passed. Combined real wall-clock speedup vs the original baseline: N=1 3.86x, N=2 2.45x (both real net wins); N=4 is a real regression once its own now-failing Fmax is honestly used, though N=4 was never the recommended configuration. N_SLOTS=2 remains the recommended default (DEC-0014 unaffected) with a thinner but still real Fmax margin. Cache hit-detection pipelining is flagged as concrete follow-up work if N_SLOTS>2 is ever needed with the cache active - not attempted this round. Logged: simulation/synthesis/timing/benchmark/decisions (DEC-0016)/ experiments (EXP-0016)/errors (ERR-0010)/development.log, ROADMAP.md updated. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_013xXuuRUWZScuo1DeYJxs3v |
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micheleandClaude Sonnet 5
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e4a5540b6e |
perf(v2): word-level burst reads - 2.24-2.37x real wall-clock speedup (DEC-0015)
Implements optimization #1 from the final benchmark campaign's own recommendation: exploit psram_controller.v's already-implemented page-mode support (confirmed present by direct inspection) by fetching multiple bytes per real backend transaction instead of one at a time. Root cause addressed: int8_memory_access.v (the byte-level backend prefetch_engine.v originally sat on) already converts every 8-bit logical request into a full 16-bit PSRAM word access internally (mem_addr <= addr >> 1), discarding half of every word it already paid for. prefetch_engine.v/memory_manager.v now speak memory_interface.v's own 16-bit word protocol directly, bypassing int8_memory_access.v entirely - which remains untouched, still frozen V1 (§1/§34); V2 simply reuses the lower layer of the same frozen chain instead of the byte-splitting layer on top of it, the same "reuse what fits" precedent slot_mem_arbiter.v already set. slot_mem_arbiter.v and neural_multiprocessor.v widened to match (lb_n/ub_n added, master port wired directly to memory_interface.v). Real, measured results: M4's own single-job testbench shows 49-56% fewer cycles (166->84, 446->204, 728->322, all still bit-exact). The full final-benchmark campaign (24/24 workload/config combinations) re-verified bit-exact with D-Stress's real wall-clock time (cycles / real POST-P&R Fmax) improving 2.24-2.37x across every N_SLOTS tested, against a small real Fmax cost (unchanged at N=1, -6.2% at N=2, -1.2% at N=4). tb_neural_multiprocessor.v (M8) and tb_benchmark_suite.v (final campaign) needed zero changes - both treat neural_multiprocessor.v as a black box. Only tb_memory_manager.v (M4, rewired to skip int8_memory_access.v) and tb_dataflow_core.v (M7, behavioral model widened to word-level) needed updates. The "real parallel scaling is flat beyond N_SLOTS=2" finding (DEC-0014) still holds - this optimization made the shared PSRAM port more efficient per transaction, not multi-ported - so N_SLOTS=2 remains the recommended default. Logged: simulation/synthesis/timing/benchmark/decisions (DEC-0015)/ experiments (EXP-0015)/development.log. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_013xXuuRUWZScuo1DeYJxs3v |
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micheleandClaude Sonnet 5
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175f697ae1 |
feat(v2): M4 Memory Manager + Prefetch Engine, real V1 PSRAM backend
Implements M4: memory_manager.v (arbitration/buffering/forwarding/ latency hiding/double buffering, §12) + prefetch_engine.v (double-buffered tile fetch, §13), sitting on the REAL, UNMODIFIED V1 PSRAM backend chain (int8_memory_access.v -> memory_interface.v -> psram_controller.v, per §15's explicit mandate not to touch the controller). Verified fully end-to-end with Verilator: real neural_processor (M1) fed entirely by memory_manager, computing against PSRAM-resident X/W tiles (double-buffered prefetch across up to 5 tiles) and writing its result back to PSRAM -- checked via an independent PSRAM read-back, with poison bytes around the operand regions to catch addressing errors. 3/3 jobs pass (1/3/5-tile configurations). Three real RTL bugs found and fixed during integration (full diagnostic trail in errors.log ERR-0006): prefetch_engine had no single-in-flight-request discipline, letting a queued request corrupt the bank bookkeeping of a fetch already running; the fix's own !pf_busy guard had a one-cycle blind spot (pf_busy lags pf_start by a clock) that needed an explicit !pf_start term; and a state-based mux for the shared backend port was off by one cycle, silently dropping the PSRAM result write entirely. Real synthesis: 0 CHECK problems, 851 LUT4/789 FF/108 CCU2C/0 DSP (expected, no multiplication in this module). Real place&route (via a synthesis-only timing harness, needed for the same TRELLIS_IO pin- budget reason as M2's array): Fmax 165.86 MHz, PASS at 80MHz. Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 5 <noreply@anthropic.com> Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_013xXuuRUWZScuo1DeYJxs3v |