Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification

Computer Architecture Letters
2010
Issue No. 2 - July-December
Abstract - Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification

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July-December 2010 (vol. 9 no. 2)

pp. 61-64

	ASCII Text	x
	Meng Zhang, Alvin R. Lebeck, Daniel J. Sorin, "Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification," IEEE Computer Architecture Letters, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 61-64, July-December, 2010.

	BibTex	x
	@article{ 10.1109/L-CA.2010.18, author = {Meng Zhang and Alvin R. Lebeck and Daniel J. Sorin}, title = {Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification}, journal ={IEEE Computer Architecture Letters}, volume = {9}, number = {2}, issn = {1556-6056}, year = {2010}, pages = {61-64}, doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/L-CA.2010.18}, publisher = {IEEE Computer Society}, address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA}, }

	RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote	x
	TY - CONF JO - IEEE Computer Architecture Letters TI - Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification IS - 2 SN - 1556-6056 SP61 EP64 EPD - 61-64 A1 - Meng Zhang, A1 - Alvin R. Lebeck, A1 - Daniel J. Sorin, PY - 2010 KW - Memory hierarchy KW - Micro-architecture implementation considerations KW - Processor Architectures KW - Computer Reliability KW - Testing KW - Fault-Tolerance KW - Verification KW - Performance Analysis and Design Aids KW - Arithmetic and Logic Structures KW - Hardware VL - 9 JA - IEEE Computer Architecture Letters ER -

Meng Zhang, Duke University, Durham

Alvin R. Lebeck, Duke University, Durham

Daniel J. Sorin, Duke University, Durham

DOI Bookmark: http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/L-CA.2010.18

One of the most challenging problems in developing a multicore processor is verfiying that the design is correct, and one of the most difficult aspects of pre-silicon verification is verifying that the memory system obeys the architecture’s specified memory consistency model. To simplify the process of pre-silicon design verification, we propose a system model called the Fractally Consistent Model (FCM). We prove that systems that adhere to the FCM can be verified to obey the memory consistency model in three simple, scalable steps. The procedure for verifying FCM systems contrasts sharply with the difficult, non-scalable procedure required to verify non-FCM systems. We show that FCM systems do not necessarily sacrifice performance, compared to non-FCM systems, despite being simpler to verify.

Index Terms:

Memory hierarchy, Micro-architecture implementation considerations, Processor Architectures, Computer Reliability, Testing, Fault-Tolerance, Verification, Performance Analysis and Design Aids, Arithmetic and Logic Structures, Hardware

Citation:

Meng Zhang, Alvin R. Lebeck, Daniel J. Sorin, "Fractal Consistency: Architecting the Memory System to Facilitate Verification," IEEE Computer Architecture Letters, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 61-64, July-Dec. 2010, doi:10.1109/L-CA.2010.18

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