Orion: a power-performance simulator for interconnection networks

We present Orion, a power-performance interconnection network simulator that is capable of providing detailed power characteristics, in addition to performance characteristics, to enable rapid power-performance tradeoffs at the architectural-level. This capability is provided within a general framework that builds a simulator starting from a microarchitectural specification of the interconnection network. A key component of this construction is the architectural-level parameterized power models that we have derived as part of this effort. Using component power models and a synthesized efficient power (and performance) simulator a microarchitect can rapidly explore the design space. As case studies, we demonstrate the use of Orion in determining optimal system parameters, in examining the effect of diverse traffic conditions, as well as evaluating new network microarchitectures. In each of the above, the ability to simultaneously monitor power and performance is key in determining suitable microarchitectures.