AMD Confidential
User Manual
September 12
h
, 2008
22
Chapter 3: Graphical User Interface
Figure 3-13: Children of DIMM Device Group
If we looked at the options and configuration of the device library “
-> Machine #1 ->
Dimm DDR2 1GBx2 #0 -> Dimm Bank #0
” (either from the GUI or from the console),
we would see that it is already configured as DDR2 with 2 dimm slots (1GB each).
This example demonstrates a broad concept. An existing device that has a more generic
and abstract definition (such as a non-configured “
Dimm Bank
”) can be wrapped in a
device group to give it an identity as a particular hardware implementation (such as an
already configured “
Dimm DDR2 1GBx2
”). More generally, any device can be wrapped
by a device group, to give an alternate default configuration for the device‟s state
(archive data).
3.3.5.2 Example: Quad-Core Node
Next we will consider examples relevant to the ability of a device group to have multiple
child devices, default archive data for each child device, and connections between the
child devices. These next examples are based on a quad-core processor node.
Building a processor node in SimNow has traditionally been a multi-step process. First
the user would add the "
AMD 8th Generation Northbridge Device
", and then add one
"
AweSim Processor
" device for each processing core in the node. These devices then
need to be connected together along the respective "
CPU Bus" and "Interrupt / IOAPIC
"
connection ports. Once the devices are connected, a user would then need to load a
product ID file so that the simulated devices would represent a real and planned piece of
hardware. In summary, building a Quad-core node in SimNow could take as many as 14
individual steps, and these steps would need to be repeated each time a processor node is
to be added.
A device group can both simplify adding a quad-core node, and present the user with a
hierarchical view. So we will give some examples with quad-core processor nodes.
A device group is not required to specify archive data for its child devices. When such a
known device group is instantiated as a created device, it simply lets its children use their
own default and initial configuration state. We can create an abstract or generic “
4 core
Node
” device group that does not represent a particular hardware implementation (just
like a non-configured “
Dimm Bank
” does not represent a particular hardware
implementation, until it is configured).