Abstract
Computer architects must determine how to most effectively use finite computational resources when running simulations to evaluate new architectural ideas. To facilitate efficient simulations with a range of bench-mark programs, we have developed the MinneSPEC input set for the SPEC CPU 2000 benchmark suite. This new workload allows computer architects to obtain simulation results in a reasonable time using existing simulators. While the MinneSPEC workload is derived from the standard SPEC CPU 2000 workload, it is a valid benchmark suite in and of itself for simulation-based research. MinneSPEC also may be used to run large numbers of simulations to find “sweet spots” in the evaluation parameter space. This small number of promising design points subsequently may be investigated in more detail with the full SPEC reference workload. In the process of developing the MinneSPEC datasets, we quantify its differences in terms of function-level execution patterns, instruction mixes, and memory behaviors compared to the SPEC programs when executed with the reference inputs. We find that for some programs, the MinneSPEC profiles match the SPEC reference dataset program behavior very closely. For other programs, however, the MinneSPEC inputs produce significantly different program behavior. The MinneSPEC workload has been recognized by SPEC and is distributed with Version 1.2 and higher of the SPEC CPU 2000 benchmark suite.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 7 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | IEEE Computer Architecture Letters |
| Volume | 1 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2002 |