Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA): An Overview

Heterogeneous computing is main stream, it can be found in almost all modern media devices and it can be found in the cluster of the supercomputing world too. However, to date each system is different and heterogeneous can mean different ISAs, different memory buses, different execution models and on and on. This variation makes it almost impossible to build a single portable application. It is not always clear who benefits from this model, but one thing is certain: it is not the developer!

The Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) is intended to address these issues directly at the definition of the platform. Originally proposed by AMD, HSA is an industry wide foundation that in June 2012 released an abstract machine specification, including an execution model and memory model capable of supporting a wide range of programming models and languages ranging from C++11 to Java and beyond.

In this talk I will introduce HSA, providing examples, details of design choices, and much more besides.

Speaker: Benedict R. Gaster, AMD