Cycle simulation techniques

Nowadays most hardware design is being done at a high level of abstraction, such as a hardware description language. Hence, simulation constitutes a significant part of the design verification process. We study cycle simulation techniques that could potentially speed up simulation. Then we propose various metrics to predict the performance of a cycle based simulator which uses these cycle simulation techniques. A justification is provided as to why each metric is the best possible indicator of a certain characteristic of the design. Finally we summarize the results obtained from the analysis of various designs and draw inferences from them.