A Simulation Study of the CRAY X-MP Memory System
IEEE Transactions on Computers
Micro-Analysis of Computer System Performance
Micro-Analysis of Computer System Performance
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Much of the performance analysis done in designing a computer is based on fundamental operation rates, like cycle time and number of pipe stages in an operation pipeline. This kind of analysis yields peak computation rates which, in fact, may never be realized. Resource contention between different units, each of which has a fundamental operation rate adequate to support a given overall peak, may cause the actual obtainable rate to be much less. In order to determine the effects of interactions between different requestors and common resources, micro-analysis, or detailed modelling of the part of the system in question, is necessary. In this paper, we report on the results of such an analysis on the operation pipe of the Titan graphics supercomputer. The Titan is a new class of machine with a supercomputer-style architecture implemented in a technology appropriate for a single-user machine. The micro-analysis reported here resulted in enhancing the actual obtainable computation rate from 10.8 Mflops to 14.6 Mflops for a particular real application, while the fundamental operation rate is 16 Mflops.