Understanding Cpu Pipelining Through Simulation Programming

Understanding the operation of modern Central Processing Units (CPUs) is essential for all Computer Engineering Technology students, but the black box nature of the CPU prevents the easy demonstration of many of the features of a modern CPU. In particular, pipelining has a tremendous effect on the real-world performance of a CPU. Typically, benchmarks are used to compare different processors, though the validity of such results is considered highly questionable. Alternatively, a variety of software packages exist for simulating the operation of a CPU. However, I have found in my Computer Architecture class that making the students write their own simple simulator programs results in a better understanding of some of the design issues involved in CPU performance. In this way, students can study the effects of the pipeline without needing to worry about any of the other details.