SHF: Small: The Cross-layer Reliability Stack

容错现在是所有主要微处理器的主要设计约束；然而，完美的容错并不是大多数设计的必要条件。相反，设计力求在可接受的故障率约束下最大化性能。因此，供应商通常为每个设计设置一个故障率（FIT）目标，并通过广泛的硅前和硅后分析来验证设计是否满足该目标。一种量化故障掩蔽的方法是利用脆弱性因子。系统由多个独立的组件组成，这些组件通过定义良好的接口进行交互。因此，故障屏蔽可以通过关注单个组件的接口来量化。这个抽象被称为“漏洞堆栈”，并且是这个项目的主要焦点。漏洞堆栈可以为计算机体系结构社区带来直接的实际利益。首先，通过对每个系统组件进行独立的漏洞评估，漏洞堆栈允许设计人员评估（并可能改进）特定组件（例如，用户程序）的容错性。这使得更广泛的计算机体系结构和软件工程社区能够参与漏洞评估和补救过程；目前，这些活动通常由配备了微体系结构模型的架构师执行。漏洞堆栈的第二个好处是大大减少了漏洞评估所需的总体工作量。漏洞堆栈的第三个好处是它可以应用于运行时漏洞估计技术。这些是有趣的，因为它们允许系统动态调整冗余特性以匹配当前的漏洞环境；这可以在低漏洞期间提高性能。该项目将通过在东北大学的计算机体系结构课程中引入漏洞概念，并在主要的计算机体系结构会议上发布教程，从而影响本科和研究生教育。该项目还将包括代表性不足的群体的参与。

Fault-tolerance is now a primary design constraint for all major microprocessors; however, perfect fault-tolerance is not a requirement for most designs. Instead, designs strive to maximize performance subject to an acceptable failure rate constraint. Therefore, vendors typically set a failure rate (FIT) target for each design and validate that the design meets this target with extensive pre-silicon and post-silicon analysis. One method to quantify fault masking is to use vulnerability factors. A system consists of multiple independent components that interact through well-defined interfaces. Therefore, fault masking can be quantified within a single component by focusing on its interfaces. This abstraction is called the "vulnerability stack", and is the major focus of this project.The vulnerability stack can have immediate tangible benefits to the Computer Architecture community. First, by enabling independent vulnerability assessment of each system component, the vulnerability stack allows a designer to assess (and potentially improve) the fault-tolerance of a particular component (e.g., a user program). This enables a much broader segment of the Computer Architecture and Software Engineering communities to participate in the vulnerability assessment and remediation process; currently, these activities are typically performed by architects equipped with a microarchitectural model. A second benefit of the vulnerability stack is a substantial reduction in the overall effort required for vulnerability assessment. A third benefit of the vulnerability stack is its application to runtime vulnerability estimation techniques. These are of interest because they allow a system to dynamically tune redundancy features to match the current vulnerability environment; this can improve performance during periods of low vulnerability.This project will impact undergraduate and graduate education by introducing vulnerability concepts in the Computer Architecture curriculum at Northeastern University and deliver a tutorial at a major Computer Architecture conference. The project will also include participation by under-represented groups.