CacheBit: A Multisource-Multitarget Cache Instrumentation Tool

Abstract

The cache utilization seriously impacts on program performance, whereas the cache behavior is transparent to developers so that they cannot get opportunity to optimize their programs by reducing cache miss rates. This paper introduces a useful instrumentation tool, Cachebit, which is built with Crossbit - a dynamic binary translation (DBT) framework with intermediate instruction layer. Cachebit simulates cache behavior and presents statistics of cache profile at runtime. After running programs on Crossbit with Cachebit available, cache profile information can be reported to help developers rewrite and improve their programs. Moreover, by setting different cache characteristics (including cache size, block size, associative pattern, replacement policy, hierarchy number), Cachebit can simulate a variety of real cache architectures. Comparing with other analogous tools, Cachebit gives a multisource-multitarget testing platform, that is, programs can be tested on isomerous platforms.