Patent ID: 7239995

Claim:
A method comprising: simulating a first token proceeding through a data processor, the data processor having a plurality of stages, wherein the first token represents a collection of data and the simulation includes creating the first token, creating a first hold event to represent an acquisition of a first capacity of a first resource by the first token, creating a first capacity stall event to represent that a second resource lacks capacity to fulfill a request for capacity for the first token, creating a first signal stall event to represent that a processing of the first token is stalled waiting for a first signal, and collecting an event set that includes the first hold event, the first capacity stall event, and the first signal stall event; determining a root cause of at least one of the first capacity stall event and the first signal stall event based on the event information set and providing information describing the root cause to a user for use in improving the performance of the data processor.