k9: a simulator of distributed-memory parallel processors
K9 is a software package for the simulation and performance evaluation of distributed-memory parallel processors (DMPPs). It is written in C++ and runs on Sequent Symmetry and SUN-3. K9 provides the user with four building-blocks (processor cells, communication channels, multi-port shared-memories, and I/O processors), and one abstraction mechanism (the DMPP interconnection topology). Application code for K9 can be written in C++ or C. When timing analysis is turned on, the simulation runs between 10 and 20 times slower than if comparable code were executed by the host. When timing analysis is turned off, the simulation proceeds as fast as comparable code running on the host. K9's fast execution allows the simulation of large application programs. Finally, a graphical interface visualizeswith animationdifferent parameters of the DMPP architecture (hot spots phenomena, load-balancing problems, and so on).
simulation parallel processor software packaging performance evaluation symmetry user communication abstraction interconnect topologies applications code time analysis program graphics interfaces architecture building block sharing load balancing memorialized distributed animation