The future of simulation: A field of dreams?

Due to the enormous complexity of computer systems, researchers use simulators to model system behavior and generate quantitative estimates of expected performance. Researchers also use simulators to model and assess the efficacy of future enhancements and novel systems. Arguably the most important tools available to computer architecture researchers, simulators offer a balance of cost, timeliness, and flexibility. Improving the infrastructure, benchmarking, and methodology of simulation - the dominant computer performance evaluation method - results in higher efficiency and let architects gain more insight into processor behavior. For these reasons, architecture researchers have increasingly relied on simulators.