Collaborative Research: CCRI: Planning-C: Enabling Computer Architecture Simulation as a Service

合作研究：CCRI：Planning-C：实现计算机架构仿真即服务

• 批准号: 2234400
• 负责人: Yifan Sun
• 金额: $ 7.24万
• 依托单位: College of William and Mary
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-03-15 至 2025-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2234400&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; CCRI; Planning; Enabling

Simulators are essential to computer architecture as they allow designers to validate design ideas without producing real chips on silicon, which is expensive and time-consuming. However, there are currently many issues slowing the advancement of computer architecture design through simulation: 1) Fragmentation of the ecosystem; simulator models developed in one framework cannot be used in another. 2) High barrier of entry; extensive training and powerful hardware are required, limiting participation, particularly from marginalized populations and institutes with limited resources, and 3) Neglect of usability and user experience; poor result interpretability hinders insights generated from simulations. The project's impacts are empowering the computer architecture research community with a one-stop, web-based, and cloud-powered computer architecture simulation environment to support more complex computer architecture simulations and to allow more researchers to participate in the advancement of computing system design. The project’s novelties are creating new computer architecture design principles that bridge technical and human aspects of usability across the computer architecture simulation ecosystem.This project delivers an online platform that allows users to conduct complex simulator-based computer architecture research without leaving the platform. Central to the platform is a Model Zoo for researchers to publish simulator models, fork others’ models, validate models, and use others’ models in their experiments. This project unifies the ecosystem by building a compatibility layer to connect simulator models developed in popular simulator frameworks such as gem5, SST, and MGPUSim. This project also enables computer architecture simulation as a service (CASaaS) as users can configure experiments, run simulations in the cloud, and monitor the running simulations in real-time. The platform also provides an integrated visualization tool for result analysis.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

仿真器对于计算机架构至关重要，因为它们允许设计人员验证设计思想，而无需在硅上生产真实的芯片，这是昂贵且耗时的。然而，目前有许多问题减缓了通过仿真进行计算机体系结构设计的进展：1）生态系统的碎片化;在一个框架中开发的模拟器模型不能在另一个框架中使用。2)进入壁垒高;需要广泛的培训和强大的硬件，限制了参与，特别是来自边缘化人群和资源有限的机构，以及3）可用性和用户体验的缺乏;结果可解释性差阻碍了从模拟中产生的见解。该项目的影响是赋予计算机架构研究社区一站式，基于Web和云计算的计算机架构模拟环境，以支持更复杂的计算机架构模拟，并允许更多的研究人员参与计算系统设计的进步。该项目的创新之处在于创建新的计算机架构设计原则，将计算机架构仿真生态系统中可用性的技术和人性方面联系起来。该项目提供了一个在线平台，允许用户在不离开平台的情况下进行基于仿真器的复杂计算机架构研究。该平台的核心是一个模型动物园，供研究人员发布模拟器模型，分叉其他模型，验证模型，并在实验中使用其他模型。该项目通过构建一个兼容层来连接在流行的模拟器框架（如gem 5，SST和MGPUSim）中开发的模拟器模型，从而统一了生态系统。该项目还支持计算机架构模拟即服务（CASaaS），因为用户可以配置实验，在云中运行模拟，并实时监控正在运行的模拟。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。