Data and commands communication protocol for neuromorphic platform configuration

In this paper, we present a new network protocol and methodology to enhance the configuration phase of the SpiNNaker spiking neural network hardware simulator. We have developed a system able to accept and process on-board a set of configuration primitives (data specification) encapsulated into ad-hoc packets, avoiding the management of chip memory from the host computer. We performed a study of the data specification generator implemented in the host software library. Afterwards, we extended the currently on-board data specification executor to cope with the newly-formed packets. The use of UDP protocol presents challenges due to its intrinsic unreliability. Furthermore, the presence of a single Ethernet link per board, and the requirement for a dedicated processor to handle all Ethernet communications limit the available communication bandwidth. A set of simulations was performed in order to tune the protocol parameters and to study the trade-offs between transmission speed and reliability. We were able to reach a throughput of a packet every 250 mu s, which corresponds to a bandwidth of similar to 10 Mb/s. This system is able to open new perspectives for the SpiNNaker architecture. Thus, including the reduction of the time required to configure a simulation, the ability to configure more instances of a simulation. This system could even to enable the simulation of neurogenesis.