Asim: a performance model framework

Abstract

The longevity and usefulness of a microprocessor performance model has historically depended on the model writer's skills and discipline. However, at Compaq the models became extremely complex and unmanageable because designers lacked a structured way to develop them. To cope with these complexities, Compaq researchers began developing Asim in late 1998 to allow model writers to faithfully represent the detailed timing of complex modern machines and effectively manage the large software projects needed to model such machines. Asim addresses these needs by providing a modular and reusable framework for creating many models. The framework's modularity helps break down the performance-modeling problem into individual pieces that can be modeled separately, while its reusability allows using a software component repeatedly in different contexts.