Shared block contention in a cache coherence protocol

Simulation is used to analyze shared block contention in eight parallel algorithms and its effects on the performance of a cache coherence protocol under the assumption of infinite cache sizes. A simple program model for data and block sharing is introduced, and an analytical closed-form solution is found for all components of the cache coherence overhead. This model is based on the observation that shared writable blocks are accessed in critical or in semicritical sections. The program model is applied to the analysis of multiprocessor systems with finite cache sizes and for steady state computations. The authors compare the model predictions to the results of execution-driven simulations of eight parallel algorithms. The simulation is conducted for various numbers of processors and different cache block sizes