A Software Syntheis Tool for Distributed Embedded System Design

We present a design tool for automated synthesis of embedded systems on distributed COTS-based platforms. In such systems, there is a huge space of potential designs, and the key problem is to determine the "best" one that satisfies the given performance characteristics. Our synthesis tool consists of (1) a graphical user interface for input of software layouts, which maps tasks to resources and (2) a constraints solving engine, which allocates local resources to tasks, all with the goal of meeting specified performance criteria. The methodology used in our tool differs from previous works in that it allows (a) use of stochastic (rather than worst-case) models of resource usage and (b) resource sharing among components. The approach emphasized in this tool is the use of performance analysis in the design process where performance models of potential designs are constructed and then analytical approximate solutions of these models are used for quick estimates of desired performance meas..