Correlation between detailed and simplified simulations in studying multiprocessor architecture

Simulation of multiprocessor systems is widely used to evaluate design alternatives. Using detailed simulation can be prohibitive especially for tackling large design space. Simplified simulation, on the other hand, may not provide accurate picture of the performance trend. In this work, we studied the correlation between the measurements of synchronization-based execution times for detailed and simplified simulations. We show that these measurements are highly correlated. Using the correlation information, the total detailed execution time can be estimated within 5% error with less than 25% of the detailed simulation cycles.