CAREER: Systematic Design Space Exploration

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

This project involves the research, development, and dissemination of techniques and tools necessary to perform rigorous, systematic processor design-space exploration. The key element is a framework in which architectural simulators and targeted compilers are automatically derived from a common architectural description, providing architects, microarchitects, and compiler developers with a dynamic, yet coherent, environment within which to design processor systems. Such a system would enhance productivity and design quality by tightening the loop between architectural decision-making and realistic performance feedback and by allowing for more productive collaboration among the members of a prototyping team. The resulting reduction in design cycle times will counter increasingly restrictive market pressures, safeguarding the practicality of designing both new general-purpose microprocessors and application-specific processors (ASIPs), such as those found in networking hardware, cellular telephones, and next-generation digital devices. Additionally, this research will provide invaluable experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students in computer architecture and compilers. This same system is an ideal mechanism by which students can interact with tangible examples of computer architecture and compiler concepts -- it will allow them to rapidly prototype systems, experiment with new ideas, and thereby build intuition about computer systems.