GPGPUs ECC efficiency and efficacy

Abstract

In this paper we assess and discuss the efficiency and overhead of the Error-Correcting Code (ECC) mechanism available on modern GPGPUs, which are increasingly used for both High Performance Computing and safety-critical applications. Both the resilience to radiation-induced silent data corruption and functional interruption are experimentally and analytically addressed. The provided experimental analysis demonstrates that the ECC significantly reduces the occurrence of silent data corruption but may not be sufficient to guarantee high reliability. Moreover, the ECC increases the GPGPU functional interruption rate. Finally, the ECC performances and reliability are compared to Algorithm-Based Fault Tolerance and Duplication With Comparison strategies.