Heterogeneous Systems Architecture Foundation Launches the HSA 1.1 Specification

June 2, 2016

June 2 — The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Foundation today released the HSA 1.1 specification, significantly enhancing the ability to integrate open and proprietary IP blocks in heterogeneous designs. The new specification is the first to define the interfaces that enable IP blocks from different vendors to communicate, interoperate and collectively compose an HSA system.

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—including CPUs, GPUs, DSPs, FPGAs, fabrics and fixed function accelerators—in today’s complex systems-on-chip (SoCs).

With the introduction of multi-vendor architecture support and a range of other functional enhancements, HSA specification 1.1 advances the Foundation’s goal of bringing true heterogeneous computing to platforms including vision based IoT systems, mobile devices, desktops, high-performance computing (HPC) systems, AR/VR environments, and servers.

“HSA is increasing traction, with HSA compliant systems now in the market, an increasing number of developer tools available, and now the ability to leverage IP blocks from different vendors,” said HSA Foundation President Dr. John Glossner. “The HSA Foundation’s working groups have worked tremendously hard to bring about this latest specification, helping to usher in the next wave of computing innovation.”

“HSA is well on its way to becoming ubiquitous,” said Jon Peddie, president, JPR Research. “The trend will continue giving us increasingly powerful devices—from desktops to mobile to tablets—running at lower power. New multi-vendor support will enable easier integration of IP blocks from different vendors to help further grow the HSA ecosystem.”

HSA Specification 1.0, introduced in March 2015, marked a major breakthrough by defining a method for delivering highly integrated systems abstracting away specific processor complexities in heterogeneous designs.

In addition to multi-vendor support, key features of the new 1.1 specification include:

  • More efficient interoperation: Greatly improved interoperation with graphics, cameras and other image processors, digital signal processors; and more efficient interoperation with non-HSA compliant devices
  • A strict, formal definition of the HSA memory model which allows for well-defined language support that is at the forefront of the industry
  • Heterogeneous system-level profiling capabilities with support for an architected event/timestamp model and performance evaluation enabling users to access hardware information for profile guided optimizations or analysis of user code in any language
  • Quality of Service (QoS) improvements with better defined forward progress requirements
  • Several run-time enhancements including the capability to wait on multiple signals
  • Non-temporal memory access that allows infrequently used values to be removed from a cache efficiently
  • A new open source LLDB-based debugger sponsored by Codeplay supporting kernels compiled using the open source CLOC compiler and the HSA assembler. All are available on the Foundation’s GitHub repository.
  • High-level debug information being provided in an updated Finalizer code object
  • Finalizer version support for specific application libraries

“Since its inception, HSA has offered and continues to offer a great deal of promise especially as we move into an era that will see many acceleration technologies come to market. This ability to create seamless integration of solutions regardless of the underlying hardware is paramount for the industry success. This release of the HSA specification represents the evolution of this strategy and brings the next set of capabilities needed to progress this vision,” said Patrick Moorhead, who leads market research firm Moor Insights & Strategy. “I anticipate a lot of interesting use cases, as solution providers find it easier to harness the power as these technologies come together.”

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. See: http://www.hsafoundation.com/


Source: HSA Foundation

Subscribe to HPCwire's Weekly Update!

Be the most informed person in the room! Stay ahead of the tech trends with industry updates delivered to you every week!

The New MLPerf Storage Benchmark Runs Without ML Accelerators

October 3, 2024

MLCommons is known for its independent Machine Learning (ML) benchmarks.  These benchmarks have focused on mathematical ML operations and accelerators (e.g., Nvidia GPUs). Recently, MLCommons introduced the results of i Read more…

DataPelago Unveils Universal Engine to Unite Big Data, Advanced Analytics, HPC, and AI Workloads

October 3, 2024

DataPelago today emerged from stealth with a new virtualization layer that it says will allow users to move AI, data analytics, and ETL workloads to whatever physical processor they want, without making code changes, the Read more…

IBM Quantum Summit Evolves into Developer Conference

October 2, 2024

Instead of its usual quantum summit this year, IBM will hold its first IBM Quantum Developer Conference which the company is calling, “an exclusive, first-of-its-kind.” It’s planned as an in-person conference at th Read more…

Stayin’ Alive: Intel’s Falcon Shores GPU Will Survive Restructuring

October 2, 2024

Intel's upcoming Falcon Shores GPU will survive the brutal cost-cutting measures as part of its "next phase of transformation." An Intel spokeswoman confirmed that the company will release Falcon Shores as a GPU. The com Read more…

Texas A&M HPRC at PEARC24: Building the National CI Workforce

October 1, 2024

Texas A&M High-Performance Research Computing (HPRC) significantly contributed to the PEARC24 (Practice & Experience in Advanced Research Computing 2024) conference. Eleven HPRC and ACES’ (Accelerating Computin Read more…

A Q&A with Quantum Systems Accelerator Director Bert de Jong

September 30, 2024

Quantum technologies may still be in development, but these systems are evolving rapidly and existing prototypes are already making a big impact on science and industry. One of the major hubs of quantum R&D is the Q Read more…

The New MLPerf Storage Benchmark Runs Without ML Accelerators

October 3, 2024

MLCommons is known for its independent Machine Learning (ML) benchmarks.  These benchmarks have focused on mathematical ML operations and accelerators (e.g., N Read more…

DataPelago Unveils Universal Engine to Unite Big Data, Advanced Analytics, HPC, and AI Workloads

October 3, 2024

DataPelago today emerged from stealth with a new virtualization layer that it says will allow users to move AI, data analytics, and ETL workloads to whatever ph Read more…

Stayin’ Alive: Intel’s Falcon Shores GPU Will Survive Restructuring

October 2, 2024

Intel's upcoming Falcon Shores GPU will survive the brutal cost-cutting measures as part of its "next phase of transformation." An Intel spokeswoman confirmed t Read more…

How GenAI Will Impact Jobs In the Real World

September 30, 2024

There’s been a lot of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about the potential for generative AI to take people’s jobs. The capability of large language model Read more…

IBM and NASA Launch Open-Source AI Model for Advanced Climate and Weather Research

September 25, 2024

IBM and NASA have developed a new AI foundation model for a wide range of climate and weather applications, with contributions from the Department of Energy’s Read more…

Intel Customizing Granite Rapids Server Chips for Nvidia GPUs

September 25, 2024

Intel is now customizing its latest Xeon 6 server chips for use with Nvidia's GPUs that dominate the AI landscape. The chipmaker's new Xeon 6 chips, also called Read more…

Building the Quantum Economy — Chicago Style

September 24, 2024

Will there be regional winner in the global quantum economy sweepstakes? With visions of Silicon Valley’s iconic success in electronics and Boston/Cambridge� Read more…

How GPUs Are Embedded in the HPC Landscape

September 23, 2024

Grasping the basics of Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) architecture is crucial for understanding how these powerful processors function, particularly in high-per Read more…

Shutterstock_2176157037

Intel’s Falcon Shores Future Looks Bleak as It Concedes AI Training to GPU Rivals

September 17, 2024

Intel's Falcon Shores future looks bleak as it concedes AI training to GPU rivals On Monday, Intel sent a letter to employees detailing its comeback plan after Read more…

Nvidia Shipped 3.76 Million Data-center GPUs in 2023, According to Study

June 10, 2024

Nvidia had an explosive 2023 in data-center GPU shipments, which totaled roughly 3.76 million units, according to a study conducted by semiconductor analyst fir Read more…

AMD Clears Up Messy GPU Roadmap, Upgrades Chips Annually

June 3, 2024

In the world of AI, there's a desperate search for an alternative to Nvidia's GPUs, and AMD is stepping up to the plate. AMD detailed its updated GPU roadmap, w Read more…

Granite Rapids HPC Benchmarks: I’m Thinking Intel Is Back (Updated)

September 25, 2024

Waiting is the hardest part. In the fall of 2023, HPCwire wrote about the new diverging Xeon processor strategy from Intel. Instead of a on-size-fits all approa Read more…

Ansys Fluent® Adds AMD Instinct™ MI200 and MI300 Acceleration to Power CFD Simulations

September 23, 2024

Ansys Fluent® is well-known in the commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) space and is praised for its versatility as a general-purpose solver. Its impr Read more…

Shutterstock_1687123447

Nvidia Economics: Make $5-$7 for Every $1 Spent on GPUs

June 30, 2024

Nvidia is saying that companies could make $5 to $7 for every $1 invested in GPUs over a four-year period. Customers are investing billions in new Nvidia hardwa Read more…

Shutterstock 1024337068

Researchers Benchmark Nvidia’s GH200 Supercomputing Chips

September 4, 2024

Nvidia is putting its GH200 chips in European supercomputers, and researchers are getting their hands on those systems and releasing research papers with perfor Read more…

Comparing NVIDIA A100 and NVIDIA L40S: Which GPU is Ideal for AI and Graphics-Intensive Workloads?

October 30, 2023

With long lead times for the NVIDIA H100 and A100 GPUs, many organizations are looking at the new NVIDIA L40S GPU, which it’s a new GPU optimized for AI and g Read more…

Leading Solution Providers

Contributors

Everyone Except Nvidia Forms Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) Consortium

May 30, 2024

Consider the GPU. An island of SIMD greatness that makes light work of matrix math. Originally designed to rapidly paint dots on a computer monitor, it was then Read more…

Quantum and AI: Navigating the Resource Challenge

September 18, 2024

Rapid advancements in quantum computing are bringing a new era of technological possibilities. However, as quantum technology progresses, there are growing conc Read more…

IBM Develops New Quantum Benchmarking Tool — Benchpress

September 26, 2024

Benchmarking is an important topic in quantum computing. There’s consensus it’s needed but opinions vary widely on how to go about it. Last week, IBM introd Read more…

Google’s DataGemma Tackles AI Hallucination

September 18, 2024

The rapid evolution of large language models (LLMs) has fueled significant advancement in AI, enabling these systems to analyze text, generate summaries, sugges Read more…

Microsoft, Quantinuum Use Hybrid Workflow to Simulate Catalyst

September 13, 2024

Microsoft and Quantinuum reported the ability to create 12 logical qubits on Quantinuum's H2 trapped ion system this week and also reported using two logical qu Read more…

IonQ Plots Path to Commercial (Quantum) Advantage

July 2, 2024

IonQ, the trapped ion quantum computing specialist, delivered a progress report last week firming up 2024/25 product goals and reviewing its technology roadmap. Read more…

Intel Customizing Granite Rapids Server Chips for Nvidia GPUs

September 25, 2024

Intel is now customizing its latest Xeon 6 server chips for use with Nvidia's GPUs that dominate the AI landscape. The chipmaker's new Xeon 6 chips, also called Read more…

US Implements Controls on Quantum Computing and other Technologies

September 27, 2024

Yesterday the Commerce Department announced  export controls on quantum computing technologies as well as new controls for advanced semiconductors and additiv Read more…

  • arrow
  • Click Here for More Headlines
  • arrow
HPCwire