Dynamic verification of memory consistency in cache-coherent multithreaded computer architectures

Journal Article (Journal Article)

Multithreaded servers with cache-coherent shared memory are the dominant type of machines used to run critical network services and database management systems. To achieve the high availability required for these tasks, it is necessary to incorporate mechanisms for error detection and recovery. Correct operation of the memory system is defined by the memory consistency model. Errors can therefore be detected by checking if the observed memory system behavior deviates from the specified consistency model. Based on recent work, we design a framework for dynamic verification of memory consistency (DVMC). The framework consists of mechanisms to verify three invariants that are proven to guarantee that a specified memory consistency model is obeyed. We describe an implementation of the framework for the SPARCv9 architecture, and we experimentally evaluate its performance using full-system simulation of commercial workloads. © 2006 IEEE.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Meixner, A; Sorin, DJ

Published Date

  • January 1, 2009

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 6 / 1

Start / End Page

  • 18 - 31

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 1545-5971

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1109/TDSC.2007.70243

Citation Source

  • Scopus