data set:
This is the first of two equally-weighted assessed coursework exercises. Working individually, do the exercise and write up a short report presenting and explaining your results. Submit your work in a pdf file electronically via CATE.1 The CATE system will also indicate the deadline for this exercise.
``Sum of Absolute Differences'' (SAD) is a simple video quality metric, which is used in motion estimation for video compression. In this exercise, you will use an SAD implementation from the Parboil benchmark suite,2 which is based on the full-pixel motion estimation algorithm found in the JM reference H.264 video encoder.
Copy the benchmark code to your own directory, e.g.
prompt> mkdir /homes/yourid/ACA09 prompt> cd !$ prompt> cp -r /homes/phjk/ToyPrograms/ACA09/SAD ./
(The ./ above is the destination of the copy - your current working directory). List the contents of the benchmark directory:
prompt> cd SAD prompt> ls benchmarks common DIRECTORIES driver LICENSE parboil README.benchmarks README.suite
Make the Parboil suite's test harness:
prompt> cd common/src prompt> make PARBOIL_ROOT=/homes/yourid/ACA09/SAD prompt> cd ../..
See a description of the SAD benchmark:
prompt> ./parboil describe sad
Parboil parallel benchmark suite, version 0.1
sad
A "sum of absolute differences" benchmark. This benchmark
is based on the full-pixel motion estimation algorithm found
in the JM reference H.264 video encoder. Motion estimation
searches for blocks in one image that approximately match blocks
in another image. This benchmark computes SADs for pairs of
blocks, where an SAD is one metric for how closely two images
match.
There are three kernels. One kernel computes SADs for 4-by-4
blocks. The next kernel consumes the first kernel's results to
compute SADs for larger blocks, up to 8-by-8. The last kernel
computes SADs for blocks up to 16-by-16. Each kernel uses
the previous kernel's output.
Versions: cpu_ss cuda_base base cuda cpu_wattch cpu
Data sets: default 64x64 16x16 32x32
In this exercise, we will simulate cpu_ss (SimpleScalar) and cpu_wattch (Wattch) versions. (Note that the paragraph about three kernels relates to the GPU versions.)
Compile and run the base CPU version:
prompt> ./parboil compile sad base prompt> ./parboil run sad base default
default is the default data set, which is too large for simulation.3
Compile and run the SimpleScalar version withe the data set:
prompt> ./parboil compile sad cpu_ss prompt> ./parboil run sad cpu_ss 32x32
To clean previously compiled files type:
prompt> ./parboil clean sad base
Choose a Linux machine on the DoC network.4
Study the effect of various architectural features on the performance of the SAD benchmark.
To run the SAD benchmark in SimpleScalar type:
prompt> ./parboil run sad cpu_ss 32x32
To run the SAD benchmark in Wattch type:
prompt> ./parboil run sad cpu_wattch 32x32
To pass flags to SimpleScalar and Wattch, set the environment variable SSFLAGS:
prompt> setenv SSFLAGS "-ruu:size 64 -lsq:size 16"
Vary the RUU size between 2 and 256 (only powers of two are valid). (You may with to use a script varyarch.) Plot a graph showing your results. Explain what you see.
Vary the other microarchitecture parameters (leave the cache parameters unchanged). Where is the bottleneck (when running this application) in the default simulated architecture? Justify your answer.
Can you find the ``sweet spot'' architecture delivering best performance per unit power?
Write your results up in a short report (less than four pages including graphs and discussion).
Try using the gnuplot program. Run the script above, and save the output in a file table. Type gnuplot. Then, at its prompt type:
set logscale x 2 plot [][0:2] 'table2' using 1:3 with linespointsTo save the plot as a postscript file, try:
set term postscript eps set output "psfile.ps" plot [][0:2] 'table2' using 1:3 with linespointsTry help postscript, help plot etc for further details.
If you have an NVIDIA GPU and CUDA installed, you can also compile and run CUDA versions: cuda_base and cuda, e.g.
prompt> ./parboil compile sad cuda prompt> ./parboil run sad cuda default -S
Paul H.J. Kelly & Anton Lokhmotov, Imperial College London, 2009
