Abstract

Trace-driven simulation is an important aid in performance analysis of computer systems. Capturing address traces for these simulations is a difficult problem for single processors and particularly for multicomputers. Even when existing trace methods can be used on multicomputers, thc amount of coltected data typically grows with the number of processors, so IP and trace storage costs increase. A new technique is presented in this paper which modifies the executable code to dynamically collect the address trace from the user code and analyzes this trace during the execution of the program. This method helps resolve the I/O and storage problems and facilitates parallel analysis of the address trace. If a trace stared on disk is desired, the generated trace information can also be wriaen to files during execution, with a resultant drop in program execution speed. An initial implementation on the Intel ipSC/2 hypercube multicomputer is detailed, and sample simulation results are presented. The effect of this trace collection method on execution time is illustrated. Acknowledgmmnf: This ~ m h wu suppond in put by a Shell Doud Fellowship. by a Digital Faculty

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