{"id":169466,"date":"2008-02-26T11:25:38","date_gmt":"2008-02-26T11:25:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/bee3\/"},"modified":"2017-06-01T18:42:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-02T01:42:27","slug":"bee3","status":"publish","type":"msr-project","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/project\/bee3\/","title":{"rendered":"BEE3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"asset-content\">The BEE3 (Berkeley Emulation Engine, version 3) is a multi-FPGA system with up to 64 GB of DRAM and several I\/O subsystems that can be used to enable faster, larger and higher fidelity computer architecture or other systems research.<!-- .asset-content --><\/p>\n<h1>Objective: Revitalizing Computer Architecture Research<\/h1>\n<h2>The Problem<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Computer Architecture is increasingly incremental, and boring.<\/li>\n<li>Many papers study a tiny feature, and report 5% improvements.<\/li>\n<li>Simulation is too slow to allow full-system experiments running real software.<\/li>\n<li>Researchers can no longer build real chips to test new ideas \u2013 it\u2019s too expensive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Our Goal: Change this<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Provide an experimental platform for the research community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The Solution: BEE3<\/h2>\n<p>BEE3 stands for the Berkeley Emulation Engine version 3. The BEE3 system is a 2U chassis with a tightly-couple 4 FPGA system that is a vehicle for Computer Architecture Research. In particular, the BEE3 is the target platform for the Research Accelerator for Multiple Processors (<a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/ramp.eecs.berkeley.edu\/\">RAMP<\/a>). RAMP is a collection of six universities (Berkeley, Stanford, UW, UT, CMU, and MIT) and several industry partners including: Microsoft Research, Xilinx, Sun Microsystems and IBM. The BEE3 is a scalable platform, 1 to 64 2U systems, that facilitates research in a multiple areas: Computer Architecture, Systems, OS and Software, Memory Hierarchy and Storage, and various Application\/Algorithm Accelerators, to name a few.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"moray-accordion\" data-show=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"clearfix\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn-group align-items-center mb-g float-sm-right\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\trole=\"group\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-mount=\"collapse-controls\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-bi-aN=\"accordion-collapse-controls\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-target=\"#accordion-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-link m-0\" aria-disabled=\"false\" aria-pressed=\"false\" data-action=\"expand\" type=\"button\" data-bi-cN=\"Expand all\">Expand all<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span aria-hidden=\"true\"> | <\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-link m-0\" aria-disabled=\"false\" aria-pressed=\"false\" data-action=\"collapse\" type=\"button\" data-bi-cN=\"Collapse all\">Collapse all<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"accordion\" id=\"accordion-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"m-0\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"accordion-header\">\n\t\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-collapse m-0\"\n\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-mount=\"collapse\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-target=\"#collapse-2\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-expanded=\"false\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-controls=\"collapse-2\">\n\t\tImportant BEE3 details\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collapse\" id=\"collapse-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion-body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The BEE3 design has been licensed to <a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beecube.com\/\"><b>BEEcube<\/b><\/a><a class=\"msr-external-link glyph-append glyph-append-open-in-new-tab glyph-append-xsmall\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beecube.com\/\">.<\/a> Please contact BEEcube for product ordering and pricing information.<\/p>\n<p>The BEE3 DDR2 controller is available at the Microsoft Research downloads repository. You can also search for the controller by name: &#8220;DDR2 DRAM Controller for BEE3&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The pictures below show the rack mounted 2U BEE3 system and the inside of the 2U system with the major components labeled.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"b14d43ec-c313-4e0f-bd83-ec3337f37abb\" class=\"ImageBlock fn\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"Imageb14d43ec-c313-4e0f-bd83-ec3337f37abb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-image002.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><span id=\"ImageCaptionb14d43ec-c313-4e0f-bd83-ec3337f37abb\" class=\"ImageCaptionCoreCss ImageCaption\"><\/span><\/span><span id=\"ee7268cd-16e0-451f-9201-c970e070658e\" class=\"ImageBlock fn\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"Imageee7268cd-16e0-451f-9201-c970e070658e\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-image004.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><span id=\"ImageCaptionee7268cd-16e0-451f-9201-c970e070658e\" class=\"ImageCaptionCoreCss ImageCaption\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The BEE3 system is made up of a <b>Main<\/b> Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and a <b>Control & I\/O<\/b> PCB with the following components:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2U Enclosure with standard PC components\n<ul>\n<li>Fans, power supply, etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>BEE3 Main PCB<\/li>\n<li>4 Xilinx FPGAs (FF1136 package)\n<ul>\n<li>Virtex-5 LX110T, LX155T, or SX95T<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>16 DDR2 DIMMs\n<ul>\n<li>2 DDR2 (400) channels per FPGA<\/li>\n<li>Up to two 4 GB DIMMs per channel<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>FPGA Ring Interconnect<\/li>\n<li>8 10 GBase-CX4 Interfaces<\/li>\n<li>4 PCI-Express slots (endpoint only)<\/li>\n<li>4 QSH-DP (40 LVDS pairs) Connectors<\/li>\n<li>4 1GbE RJ45 Ports<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>BEE3 Control & I\/O PCB\n<ul>\n<li>4 RS232 via RJ45 Connectors<\/li>\n<li>4 SD Slots\n<ul>\n<li>Per FPGA Persistent Storage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>1 Compact Flash slot and System Ace support\n<ul>\n<li>FPGA Configuration Storage (Bit Files)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>1 Xilinx USB-JTAG Interface<\/li>\n<li>2 SMA Clock Inputs<\/li>\n<li>Power Switch<\/li>\n<li>Global Reset Button<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The BEE3 Main PCB connectivity is shown in the diagram below:<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"727578b6-097c-4bc7-9377-8347ee287de0\" class=\"ImageBlock fn\"><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"Image727578b6-097c-4bc7-9377-8347ee287de0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-image008.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><span id=\"ImageCaption727578b6-097c-4bc7-9377-8347ee287de0\" class=\"ImageCaptionCoreCss ImageCaption\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"m-0\">\n\t\t\t<h4 class=\"accordion-header\">\n\t\t\t\t<button\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"btn btn-collapse m-0\"\n\t\t\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-mount=\"collapse\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-target=\"#collapse-3\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-expanded=\"false\"\n\t\t\t\t\taria-controls=\"collapse-3\">\n\t\tTalks\t\t\t\t<\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collapse\" id=\"collapse-3\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"accordion-body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-bee3updatejan2007.ppt\">RAMP BEE3 Updated January 2007 <\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-bee3updatejune2007.ppt\">RAMP BEE3 Updated June 2007<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/bee3-bee3updatejan2008.ppt\">RAMP BEE3 Updated January 2008<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/en-us\/projects\/bee3\/ramping_down.pptx\">RAMP BEE3 Wrap up June 2010<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The BEE3 (Berkeley Emulation Engine, version 3) is a multi-FPGA system with up to 64 GB of DRAM and several I\/O subsystems that can be used to enable faster, larger and higher fidelity computer architecture or other systems research. Objective: Revitalizing Computer Architecture Research The Problem Computer Architecture is increasingly incremental, and boring. Many papers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"msr-url-field":"","msr-podcast-episode":"","msrModifiedDate":"","msrModifiedDateEnabled":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_classifai_error":"","footnotes":""},"research-area":[13552,13547],"msr-locale":[268875],"msr-impact-theme":[],"msr-pillar":[],"class_list":["post-169466","msr-project","type-msr-project","status-publish","hentry","msr-research-area-hardware-devices","msr-research-area-systems-and-networking","msr-locale-en_us","msr-archive-status-active"],"msr_project_start":"2008-02-26","related-publications":[145451,153745,157368,159453,160486],"related-downloads":[],"related-videos":[],"related-groups":[144666],"related-events":[],"related-opportunities":[],"related-posts":[],"related-articles":[],"tab-content":[],"slides":[],"related-researchers":[{"type":"user_nicename","value":"cthacker","display_name":"Chuck Thacker","author_link":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/people\/cthacker\/\" aria-label=\"Visit the profile page for Chuck Thacker\">Chuck Thacker<\/a>","is_active":false,"user_id":31483,"last_first":"Thacker, Chuck","people_section":0,"alias":"cthacker"}],"msr_research_lab":[],"msr_impact_theme":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/169466"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/msr-project"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/169466\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":215845,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-project\/169466\/revisions\/215845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169466"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"msr-research-area","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-area?post=169466"},{"taxonomy":"msr-locale","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-locale?post=169466"},{"taxonomy":"msr-impact-theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-impact-theme?post=169466"},{"taxonomy":"msr-pillar","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/msr-pillar?post=169466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}