Abstract

Parallel or distributed simulation is becoming more than a novel way to speedup design evaluation; it is becoming necessary for simulating modern processors in a reasonable timeframe. As architectural features become faster, smaller, and more complex, designers are interested in obtaining detailed and accurate performance and power estimations. Uniprocessor simulators may not be able to meet such demands. The RITSim project uses SystemC to model a processor microarchitecture and memory subsystem in great detail. SystemC is a C++ library built on a discrete-event simulation kernel. Many projects have successfully implemented parallel discrete-event simulation (PDES) frameworks to distribute simulation among several hosts. The field promises significant simulation speedup, possibly leading to faster turnaround time in design space exploration and commercial production. However, parallel implementation of such simulators is not an easy task. It requires modification of the simulation kernel for effective partitioning and synchronization. This thesis explores PDES techniques and presents a distributed version of the SystemC simulation environment. With minimal user interaction, SystemC models can executed on a cluster of workstations using a message-passing library such as the Message Passing Interface (MPI). The implementation is designed for transparency; distribution and synchronization happen with little intervention by the model author. Modification of SystemC is fashioned to promote maintainability with future releases. Furthermore, only freely available libraries are used for maximum flexibility and portability.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Computer simulation; Electronic data processing--Distributed processing; C++ (Computer program language)

Publication Date

9-7-2005

Document Type

Thesis

Department, Program, or Center

Computer Engineering (KGCOE)

Advisor

Semeraro, Greg - Chair

Advisor/Committee Member

Czernikowski, Roy

Advisor/Committee Member

Shaaban, Muhammad

Comments

Note: imported from RIT’s Digital Media Library running on DSpace to RIT Scholar Works. Physical copy available through RIT's The Wallace Library at: QA76.9.C65 C69 2005

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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