Using FOCAP tool for teaching microarchitecture simulation and optimization

This paper presents our new developed FOCAP tool (Framework for optimizing the Computer Architecture Performance) in order to gain a better understanding and familiarity of the students with new advanced learning methods and tools in the Microarchitecture Simulation and Optimization. At this stage, FOCAP allows a mono-objective automatic design space exploration (DSE) of a superscalar processor by varying several architectural parameters. Such DSE tools are very useful, since it is impossible to simulate all the configurations of a highly parameterized microarchitecture. Therefore, heuristic methods, local search algorithms and advanced machine learning methods are good candidates to find near-optimal configurations by evaluating a reduced number of configurations from the huge design space. Our application falls in the European trend of Framework projects that aim expanding research towards the advanced education field using modern learning technologies. The FOCAP tool facilitates the comprehending of theoretical questions, thus allowing students to feel more confident when studying microarchitecture optimization and DSE-related issues.