Revisiting Browser Performance Benchmarking From an Architectural Perspective
Yongye Zhu, Shijia Wei, Mohit Tiwari · IEEE Computer Architecture Letters · 2022
Web browser are traditionally benchmarked using user-centric page-load times. We found such metrics inaccurate from an architectural perspective, and limit hardware and systems optimization efforts, for performance and energy efficiency. In this article, we introduceSysPLT, an accurate and stable metric targeting system optimization for browsers.SysPLTtracks page load time based on browser's architectural activities.SysPLTcaptures on average 2.29× micro-architectural events compared to existing user-centric metrics, and provides insights to correct counter-intuitive system design choices recommended by user-centric metrics. We also show thatSysPLTis more stable across repeated runs and different machine settings.