As the performance gap between processor and memory grows, memory latency
will be a major bottleneck in achieving high processor utilization. Multithreading has
emerged as one of the most promising and exciting techniques used to tolerate memory
latency by exploiting thread-level parallelism. The question however remains as to how
effective multithreading is on tolerating memory latency. Due to the current availability
of powerful microprocessors, high-speed networks and software infrastructure systems,
a cost-effective parallel machine is often realized using a network of workstations.
Therefore, we examine the possibility and the effectiveness of using multithreading in a
networked computing environment. Also, we propose the Multithreaded Virtual Processor
model as a means of integrating multithreaded programming paradigm and modern
superscalar processor with support for fast context switching and thread scheduling. In
order to validate our idea, a simulator was developed using a POSIX compliant Pthreads
package and a generic superscalar simulator called Simple Scalar glued together with
support for multithreading. The simulator is a powerful workbench that enables us to
study how future superscalar design and thread management should be modified to better
support multithreading. Our studies with MVP show that, in general, the performance
improvement comes not only from tolerating memory latency, but also due to the
data sharing among threads. / Graduation date: 1999
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/33514 |
| Date | 07 December 1998 |
| Creators | Kwak, Hantak |
| Contributors | Lee, Ben |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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