Simulation of the SCI Transport Layer on the Wisconsin Wind Tunnel

Parallel simulation of parallel machines is fast becoming a critical technique for the evaluation of new parallel architectures and architectural extensions. Fast and accurate simulation of the interconnection network in parallel simulators is extremely difficult, but also extremely important. In this report, we describe an extension to the Wisconsin Wind Tunnel that simulates the transport layer of the Scalable Coherent Interface. This module enables an evaluation of switch designs and network topologies that uses real parallel codes. It also enables the exploration of architectural and protocol optimization effects on network performance. Finally, our extension increases confidence in SCI-related results that were obtained without detailed network simulation.