LZ4SNP-C is a custom hardware implementation of a lossless data compression engine that complies with the LZ4 and Snappy compression standards. The core receives uncompressed input files and produces compressed files. No post-processing of the compressed files is required, as the core encapsulates the compressed data payload with the proper headers and footers.
The core’s flexible architecture enables fine-tuning of its compression efficiency and throughput to match the requirements of the end application. More than one block compression engine can be internally instantiated to scale throughput, while block and history window sizes can be adjusted to optimize either hardware resources utilization or compression efficiency. Furthermore, the computation of the optional checksums can be disabled to reduce the size of the core.
LZ4SNP-C offers compression efficiency practically equivalent to the corresponding software applications. Analyzing hardware resources utilization versus compression efficiency to achieve the best tradeoff for a specific system is facilitated by the included software model, and by support from CAST’s data compression experts.
LZ4SNP-C has been designed for ease of use and integration. It operates on a standalone basis, off-loading the host CPU from the demanding task of data compression. Streaming AXI-Stream interfaces ease SoC integration.
Technology mapping is straightforward, as the design is scan-ready, LINT-clean, microcode-free, and uses easily replaceable, generic memory models. Memory blocks can optionally support Error Correction Codes (ECC) to meet Functional Safety or Enterprise-Class reliability requirements.
