Performance measurement and modeling to evaluate various effects on a shared memory multiprocessor

Abstract

Shared-memory multiprocessor performance is strongly affected by factors such as sequential code, barriers, cache coherence, virtual memory paging, and the multiprocessor system itself with resource scheduling and multiprogramming. Several timing models and analysis for these effects are presented. A modified Ware model based on these timing models is given to evaluate comprehensive performance of a shared-memory multiprocessor. Performance measurement has been done on the Encore Multimax, a shared-memory multiprocessor. The evaluation models are the analyses based on a general shared-memory multiprocessor system and architecture and can be applied to other types of shared-memory multiprocessors. Analytical and experimental results give a clear understanding of the various effects and a correct measure of the performance, which are important for the effective use of a shared-memory multiprocessor. >