A model for microarchitecture structure evaluation

Abstract

This paper presents the specification and implementation of a model oriented primarily to the evaluation of the structure of microarchitectures. According to the model, target architectures are described as an oriented graph which is examined by search algorithms in order to find the minimum cost path required in the execution of a set of machine primitives. The model is very useful to determine the role of each target machine component: through the model it is possible to assess the effect of both including and removing architecture components on the overall performance of a machine being conceived. The paper shows the main aspects of the project, discusses the research potential of the model, and describes the current stage of the work.