@TechReport{	  it:2001-007,
  author	= {Sven Montan},
  title		= {Validation of Cycle-Accurate {CPU} Simulators against Real
		  Hardware},
  institution	= {Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University},
  department	= {Division of Computer Systems},
  year		= {2001},
  number	= {2001-007},
  month		= apr,
  note		= {M.Sc. thesis},
  abstract	= {One of the most important issues regarding real-time
		  software performance is the worst case execution time
		  (WCET). There are several methods for deducing the WCET
		  statically; one such analysis system is currently under
		  development by WCET researchers from Uppsala University in
		  co-operation with C-lab in Paderborn. The system uses a CPU
		  simulator for calculating the execution time of selected
		  parts of the target program, which creates a demand for a
		  very cycle-accurate simulator.
		  
		  In this thesis, we give a method for validating a CPU
		  simulator against real hardware CPU. The proposed test
		  method is a black-box test method that relies on hardware
		  analysis for test-case generation. The validation method
		  aims at both determining the accuracy of the simulator and
		  to pinpoint simulator errors for improving the accuracy.
		  
		  We have tested this validation method on a NEC V850 CPU
		  core simulator, and the results show that the average
		  error-rate drops from 11,2\% to 1,3\% for a set of
		  benchmark programs. }
}