Software and System Development using Virtual Platforms

Full-System Simulation with Simics discusses the benefits and key aspects of virtual platform simulations, using the Simics framework as a model. With examples and best practices that apply to any simulation tool, the book explains the fundamental challenges, abstraction levels, and design decisions that affect the design of a full-system simulator and virtual platform model. The book offers an overview of the fundamentals of virtual platforms and computer system simulation, such as processor modeling, device modeling, abstraction levels, event based simulation, and transaction based vs signal-based modeling. It describes how virtual platforms are implemented in Simics and the resulting key features, their uses, and how Simics users can develop their own virtual platform or virtual platform extensions. In discussing the methods used to deliver a fast functional simulator, the book offers insights and understanding of the tradeoffs between performance, scaling and speed. The authors illustrate the relevance and power of the technology with a number of real-world case studies from industry and academia. * Gain insight from Intel insiders that cuts through misconceptions and helps readers realize the full potential of virtual platform simulation* Covers modeling related use-cases including devices, systems, extensions, and fault injection* Explains how simulations can influence software development, debugging, system configuration, networking, and more