# Compiler-Driven FPGA Virtualization with SYNERGY

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.02484 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.02484/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 28 Aug 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Hardware-Assisted Virtualization of Neural Processing Units for Cloud Platforms](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04104/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

FPGAs are increasingly common in modern applications, and cloud providers now support on-demand FPGA acceleration in data centers. Applications in data centers run on virtual infrastructure, where consolidation, multi-tenancy, and workload migration enable economies of scale that are fundamental to the provider's business. However, a general strategy for virtualizing FPGAs has yet to emerge. While manufacturers struggle with hardware-based approaches, we propose a compiler/runtime-based solution called Synergy. We show a compiler transformation for Verilog programs that produces code able to yield control to software at sub-clock-tick granularity according to the semantics of the original program. Synergy uses this property to efficiently support core virtualization primitives: suspend and resume, program migration, and spatial/temporal multiplexing, on hardware which is available today. We use Synergy to virtualize FPGA workloads across a cluster of Altera SoCs and Xilinx FPGAs on Amazon F1. The workloads require no modification, run within 3-4x of unvirtualized performance, and incur a modest increase in FPGA fabric utilization.