MinneSPEC: A New SPEC Benchmark Workload for Simulation-Based Computer Architecture Research

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 benchmark 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, instruct...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: CAL
• Authors: A. J. KleinOsowski, David J. Lilja
• Keywords: CAL 2002, CAL 2008, SPEC, SPEC CPU, Workload