Evaluating multiprocessor performance: an exercise in metamodeling

This paper points to the viability of metamodels in performance evaluation. A metamodel, in the sense it is used here, is a simple mathematical expression that describes a performance measure in terms of the system parameters, and is derived from experi ments with a simulation model of the system. The system con sidered is a bus-sufficient multiprocessor, and the performance measure under focus is its processing efficiency. The process of metamodel development is illustrated to show that a reliable metamodel can be derived with relative ease. It is also argued that with sufficient care taken in selecting the form of the meta model, it may be justifiable to use the metamodel beyond the experimental domain over which it is developed. Specifically, a metamodel is proposed for the processing efficiency of a multi processor system. It is shown to be a reasonably good approxima tion to the simulation model, and by extension, to the original system.