Evaluating future microprocessors : The SimpleScalar tool set
Doug Burger, Todd M. Austin, Steve Bennett · 1996
1 This document describes the SimpleScalar tool set, a collection of publicly-available simulation tools that use detailed execution -driven to simulate modern processor architectures. In this report, we give an overview of the tool set, show how to obtain, install and use it. We also discuss details about the tools' internals, and document the SimpleScalar architecture. 1 Overview Modern processors are extremely complex pieces of engineering. Researching aspects of processor and system design with these complicated beasts requires excellent simulation tools. Prototyping processors in hardware is expensive and timeconsuming, particularly during the initial phases of a research project. Mathematical performance models of current-generation processors can be inaccurate, given the aggressive use of caches, out-of-order execution, and speculation in these processors. However, the researcher does not always want to simulate at the same level of detail. Initial studies, or isolation of o...