FAST: Flexible Architecture Simulation Tool



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Description

FAST is a sophisticated tool which automatically generates cycle level simulators from the instruction set and the microarchitecture specifications written in architecture description language (ADL) developed by us. The typical descriptions of superscalar processors written in ADL range from 6,000 to 8,000 lines and the generated simulators consist of 30,000 to 35,000 lines of C++ code. This system has been functional for over a year during which time simulators for numerous superscalar configurations have been successfully built. Generating a new simulator using this system takes between 1 and 3 man months. In contrast handcoded simulators typically take 12 to 18 man months to develop. One reason for increased productivity is FAST's debugging environment. The simulation speeds of the generated simulators range from 150,000 to 200,000 simulation cycles per second depending upon the complexity of the superscalar design which is quite competetive with handcoded simulators. FAST also provides extensive support for performance data collection. The increased productivity not only allows simulators to be developed quickly, but more importantly, it enables thorough exploration of the design space that otherwise would not be possible.

This system is currently over 34,000 lines of C++ code and is being extended to allow exploration of the design space of power-adaptive microarchitectures. The ADL language is being extended so that the next generation of the FAST system will provide power consumption estimates.

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