A simulation-based method for the verification of shared memory in multiprocessor systems

As processor architectural complexity increases, greater effort must be focused on functional verification of the chip as a component of the system. Multiprocessor verification presents a particular challenge in terms of both difficulty and importance. While formal methods have made significant progress in the validation of coherence protocols, these methods are not always practical to apply to the structural implementation of a complex microprocessor. This paper describes a simulation-based approach to modeling and checking the shared-memory properties of the Alpha architecture by using a directed acyclic graph to represent memory-access orderings. The resulting tool is integrated with a simulation model of an Alpha implementation, allowing the user to verify aspects of the implementation with respect to the overall architectural specification. Both an implementation-independent and an implementation-specific version of the tool are discussed.