CAREER: Application-Driven Memory Hierarchy Management

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CCR-9876128CAREER: Application-Driven Memory Hierarchy ManagementVijay KaramchetiThe widening gap between processor and memory performance has reducedthe effectiveness of reactive memory hierarchy management techniquessuch as demand-driven caching. Application-driven proactivetechniques (such as prefetching) have been shown to be effective, butrequire extensive programmer involvement. This proposal investigatesautomating such techniques for a general programming context,specifically object-based distributed shared-memory (DSM)implementations on clusters of commodity workstations. Integratedcompiler and run-time techniques first develop a model of threadinteractions in the program, and then, using this model, constructper-thread custom coherence protocols that optimize DSM performance.Static analyses augmented with run-time profiling determine theconcurrently-active thread portions and their side-effects. Theper-thread custom protocols overcome compile-time imprecision byrelying on flexible run-time coherence and scheduling primitives,speculative optimizations, and improved utilization of availablearchitectural support. Educational plans focus on emphasizing theinterplay among applications, system software, and hardware inexisting computer systems courses, and developing new hands-on coursesin adaptive computer systems (which allow hardware and softwareconfigurability under compiler and/or application control). Expectedproject outcomes include technology for automatic application-drivenmemory-hierarchy management, its incorporation into compiler andrun-time infrastructure for optimizing program performance on clusterplatforms, and students trained in application-aware computer systemdesign.