Combining cluster sampling with single pass methods for efficient sampling regimen design

Abstract

Microarchitectural simulation is orders of magnitude slower than native execution. As more elements are accurately modeled, problems associated with slow simulation are further exacerbated. Given these issues, many researchers have devised sampling techniques to reduce simulation time. When cluster sampling techniques are used, care must be taken to remove sampling and non-sampling biases. Researchers have devised clever methods for effectively reducing non-sampling bias, but little work has been proposed for efficient reduction of sampling bias (sampling regimen design). Traditionally, sampling regimen design has been an iterative process that required a full workload simulation for error comparison. In this study, a single-pass simulation technique for sampling regimen design is proposed. Using this method, thousands of sampling regimen candidates can be simultaneously evaluated. With this technique, simulation speed was increased by an average factor of 17 with a maximum increase of 73 times relative to the total workload simulation. Additionally, this technique allows the user to effectively estimate the sample error without running the entire workload.