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tree: 9c51a2ea40523be61a8779633c385fc4b094e929 [path history] [tgz]
  1. configs/
  2. disk-image/
  3. README.md
src/npb/README.md

NAS Parallel Benchmarks (NPB) Tests

This document provides instructions to create a disk image and a Linux binary to run the NPB tests with gem5 and points to the gem5 configuration files needed to run these tests. NAS parallel benchmarks (NPB) belongs to the category of high performance computing (HPC) workloads and consists of different kernel and pseudo applications:

Kernels:

  • IS: Integer Sort, random memory access
  • EP: Embarrassingly Parallel
  • CG: Conjugate Gradient, irregular memory access and communication
  • MG: Multi-Grid on a sequence of meshes, long- and short-distance communication, memory intensive
  • FT: discrete 3D fast Fourier Transform, all-to-all communication

Pseudo Applications:

  • BT: Block Tri-diagonal solver
  • SP: Scalar Penta-diagonal solver
  • LU: Lower-Upper Gauss-Seidel solver

There are different classes (A,B,C,D,E and F) of the workloads based on the data size that is used with the benchmarks. Detailed discussion of the data sizes is available here.

We make use of a modified source of NPB for these tests, which can be found in disk-images/npb/npb-hooks. This source of NPB has ROI (region of interest) annotations for each benchmark which will be used by gem5 to separate out simulation statistics of the important parts of a program from the rest of the program. Basically, gem5 magic instructions are used before and after the ROI which exit the guest and transfer control to gem5 run script which can then do things like dumping or resetting stats or switching to cpu of interest.

Note: The instructions in this README are based on experiments with gem5-20.

We assume the following directory structure while following the instructions in this README file:

npb/
  |___ gem5/                               # gem5 source code
  |
  |___ disk-image/
  |      |___ shared/                      # Auxiliary files needed for disk creation
  |      |___ npb/
  |            |___ npb-image/             # Will be created once the disk is generated
  |            |      |___ npb             # The generated disk image
  |            |___ npb.json               # The Packer script to build the disk image
  |            |___ runscript.sh           # Executes a user provided script in simulated guest
  |            |___ post-installation.sh   # Moves runscript.sh to guest's .bashrc
  |            |___ npb-install.sh         # Compiles NPB inside the generated disk image
  |            |___ npb-hooks              # The NPB source (modified to function better with gem5).
  |
  |___ configs
  |      |___ system                       # gem5 system config files
  |      |___ run_npb.py                   # gem5 run script to run NPB tests
  |
  |___ linux                               # Linux source and binary will live here
  |
  |___ README.md                           # This README file

Disk Image

Assuming that you are in the src/npb/ directory (the directory containing this README), first build m5 (which is needed to create the disk image):

git clone https://gem5.googlesource.com/public/gem5
cd gem5/util/m5
scons build/x86/out/m5

Next,

cd disk-image
# if packer is not already installed
wget https://releases.hashicorp.com/packer/1.6.0/packer_1.6.0_linux_amd64.zip
unzip packer_1.6.0_linux_amd64.zip

# validate the packer script
./packer validate npb/npb.json
# build the disk image
./packer build npb/npb.json

Once this process succeeds, the created disk image can be found on npb/npb-image/npb. A disk image already created following the above instructions can be found, gzipped, here.

For more information on the npb disk creation process using packer refer here and here.

gem5 Run Scripts

The gem5 scripts which configure the system and run simulation are available in configs-npb-tests/. The main script run_npb.py expects following arguments:

kernel: path to the Linux kernel.

disk: path to the npb disk image.

cpu: CPU model (kvm, atomic, timing).

mem_sys: memory system (classic, MI_example, MESI_Two_Level, MOESI_CMP_directory).

benchmark: NPB benchmark to execute (bt.A.x, cg.A.x, ep.A.x, ft.A.x, is.A.x, lu.A.x, mg.A.x, sp.A.x).

Note: By default, the previously written instructions to build npb disk image will build class A,B,C and D of NPB in the disk image. We have only tested class A of the NPB. Replace A with any other class in the above listed benchmark names to test with other classes.

num_cpus: number of CPU cores.

An example of how to use these scripts:

gem5/build/X86/gem5.opt configs/run_npb.py [path to the Linux kernel] [path to the npb disk image] kvm classic bt.A.x 4

Linux Kernel

These tests use Linux kernel version 4.19.83, which can be compiled using following instructions (assuming that you are in src/npb/ directory):

git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git
cd linux
git checkout v4.19.83
# copy the Linux kernel configuration file for v4.19.83 from boot-tests/linux-configs/
cp ../../boot-exit/linux-configs/config.4.19.83 .config
make -j8

The compiled Linux binary will be named as vmlinux.

Note: The above instructions are tested with gcc 7.5.0 and an already compiled Linux binary can be downloaded from the following link:

Working Status

The working status of these tests for gem5-20 can be found here.