M3-SCoPE: Performance Modeling of Multi-Processor Embedded Systems for Fast Design Space Exploration

Abstract

Design Space Exploration for complex, multi-processor embedded Systems demands new modeling, simulation, performance estimation tools and design methodologies. Recently approved as IEEE 1666 standard, SystemC has proven to be a powerful language for system modeling and simulation. This chapter presents M3-SCoPE: a SystemC framework for platform modeling, SW source-code behavioral simulation and performance estimation of multi-processor embedded systems. Using M3-SCoPE, the application SW running on the different processors of the platform can be simulated efficiently in close interaction with the rest of the platform components. In this way, fast and sufficiently accurate performancemetrics of the system are obtained. These metrics are then delivered to the Design Space Exploration (DSE) tools to evaluate the quality of the different configuration in order to select the best ones.