Optimizing cache miss equations polyhedra

ABSTRACT

Cache Miss Equations (CME) [GMM97] is a method that accurately describes the cache behavior by means of polyhedra. Even though the computation cost of generating CME is a linear function of the number of references, to solve them is a very time consuming task and thus trying to study a whole program may be infeasible.In this work, we present effective techniques that exploit some properties of the particular polyhedra generated by CME. Such technique reduce the complexity of the algorithm to solve CME, which results in a significant speed-up when compared with traditional methods. In particular, the proposed approach does not require the computation of the vertices of each polyhedron, which has an exponential complexity.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.3 MEMORY STRUCTURES
      B.3.2 Design Styles
          Subjects: Cache memories

Additional Classification:
  B. Hardware
  B.8 Performance and Reliability

  G. Mathematics of Computing
  G.2 DISCRETE MATHEMATICS

General Terms:
Design, Measurement, Performance, Theory