Fall 2021ECE 563 - Computer Architecture
Points: 20%
Expected Deliverable: a simulation report and raw data files
1 Introduction
The main goal of this project is to run a set of simulations using the SimpleScalar sim-
ulator, which helps you understand the basic concepts introduced in the lectures, such
as instruction set architecture, quantitative performance analysis, memory hierarchy, and
instruction-level parallelism.
2 Project Preparation
2.1 Step 1 - SimpleScalar Setup
SimpleScalar is a simulator used for performance analysis and system verification at the
microarchitectural level. It supports various ISAs, including Alpha, PISA, ARM, and
x86. We will use sim-cache to test if SimpleScalar is built properly. More information
can be found on www.simplescalar.com.
1. Download SimpleScalar 3.0 from www.simplescalar.com.
2. Extract:
$ tar xvzf simplesim-3v0e.tgz
3. Build:
$ cd simplesim-3.0 && make
4. Run a test and check if it works:
$ ./sim-cache tests-alpha/bin/test-math
The output should include the following line, indicating that everything works:
-1e-17 == -1e-17 Worked!
Simulation Project ECE 563 - Fall 2021
2.2 Step 2 - Benchmarks Setup
Download benchmarks (distributed by Prof. Todd Austin at University of Michigan) from
also can find it in Resources on Sakai. Then put the zip file of benchmarks into the Sim-
pleScalar folder and extract it. Towards this end, I am attaching separately a number of
complementary documents under folder Resources/Simulation Project/ on Sakai.
Please follow the detailed instructions from the links (or the PDF version on Sakai) above
and complete the 3 simulation labs.
4 Submission Requirements
Expected deliverable of each student includes a simulation report and all raw data
files. The report should contain the following components:
1. Your name.
2. Descriptions about the simulation setup and configurations (e.g., tools/benchmarks
used and the simulation parameters), as well as any problems you encountered and
later addressed. The descriptions should be clear and compressive enough for the
readers to follow and reproduce your simulation results shown in the report.
3. Answers (with justifications) to each question listed in the simulation pages. Please
fill the tables and plot the figures as needed.
The report should be written using either IEEE or ACM templates for conferences pro-
ceedings: