CoreMark

Copyright © 2009 EEMBC All rights reserved.  CoreMark is a trademark of EEMBC and EEMBC is a registered trademark of the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium.

CoreMark’s primary goals are simplicity and providing a method for testing only a processor’s core features.

For more information about EEMBC’s comprehensive embedded benchmark suites, please see www.eembc.org.

Download the release files from the www.coremark.org.  You can verify the download using the coremark_<version>.md5 file

md5sum -c coremark_<version>.md5

Unpack the distribution (tar -vzxf coremark_<version>.tgz && tar -vzxf coremark_<version>_docs.tgz) then change to the coremark_<version> folder.

To build and run the benchmark, type

make

Full results are available in the files run1.log and run2.log.  CoreMark result can be found in run1.log.

For self hosted Linux or Cygwin platforms, a simple make should work.

Cross Compile

For cross compile platforms please adjust core_portme.mak, core_portme.h (and possibly core_portme.c) according to the specific platform used.  When porting to a new platform, it is recommended to copy one of the default port folders (e.g. mkdir <platform> && cp linux/* <platform>), adjust the porting files, and run

make PORT_DIR=<platform>

Systems without make

The following files need to be compiled:

• core_list_join.c
• core_main.c
• core_matrix.c
• core_state.c
• core_util.c
• <PORT_DIR>/core_portme.c

For example

gcc -O2 -o coremark.exe core_list_join.c core_main.c core_matrix.c core_state.c core_util.c simple/core_portme.c -DPERFORMANCE_RUN=1 -DITERATIONS=1000
./coremark.exe > run1.log

The above will compile the benchmark for a performance run and 1000 iterations.  Output is redirected to run1.log.

Make targets

ITERATIONS

By default, the benchmark will run between 10-100 seconds.  To override, use ITERATIONS=N

make ITERATIONS=10

Will run the benchmark for 10 iterations.  It is recommended to set a specific number of iterations in certain situations e.g.:

• Running with a simulator
• Measuring power/energy
• Timing cannot be restarted

Minimum required run time

Results are only valid for reporting if the benchmark ran for at least 10 secs!

XCFLAGS

To add compiler flags from the command line, use XCFLAGS e.g.

make XCFLAGS="-g -DMULTITHREAD=4 -DUSE_FORK=1"

• CORE_DEBUG

Define to compile for a debug run if you get incorrect CRC.

make XCFLAGS="-DCORE_DEBUG=1"

• Parallel Execution

Use XCFLAGS=-DMULTITHREAD=N where N is number of threads to run in parallel.  Several implementations are available to execute in multiple contexts, or you can implement your own in core_portme.c.

make XCFLAGS="-DMULTITHREAD=4 -DUSE_PTHREAD"

Above will compile the benchmark for execution on 4 cores, using POSIX Threads API.

REBUILD

To force rebuild, add the flag REBUILD to the command line

make REBUILD=1

Check core_portme.mak for more important options.

Run parameters for the benchmark executable

Coremark executable takes several parameters as follows (if main accepts arguments).  1st - A seed value used for initialization of data.  2nd - A seed value used for initialization of data.  3rd - A seed value used for initialization of data.  4th - Number of iterations (0 for auto : default value) 5th - Reserved for internal use.  6th - Reserved for internal use.  7th - For malloc users only, ovreride the size of the input data buffer.

The run target from make will run coremark with 2 different data initialization seeds.

Alternative parameters

If not using malloc or command line arguments are not supported, the buffer size for the algorithms must be defined via the compiler define TOTAL_DATA_SIZE.  TOTAL_DATA_SIZE must be set to 2000 bytes (default) for standard runs.  The default for such a target when testing different configurations could be ...

make XCFLAGS="-DTOTAL_DATA_SIZE=6000 -DMAIN_HAS_NOARGC=1"

When you unpack the documentation (tar -vzxf coremark_<version>_docs.tgz) a docs folder will be created.  Check the file docs/html/index.html and the website http://www.coremark.org for more info.

CoreMark results can be submitted on the web.

Open a web browser and go to http://www.coremark.org- /benchmark- /index.php?pg=benchmark Select the link to add a new score and follow the instructions.

What is and is not allowed.

Required

• If not using command line arguments to main:

make XCFLAGS="-DPERFORMANCE_RUN=1" REBUILD=1 run1.log
make XCFLAGS="-DVALIDATION_RUN=1" REBUILD=1 run2.log

make XCFLAGS="-DTOTAL_DATA_SIZE=1200 -DPROFILE_RUN=1" REBUILD=1 run3.log

• ee_u8 is an 8 bits datatype.
• ee_s16 is an 16 bits datatype.
• ee_u16 is an 16 bits datatype.
• ee_s32 is an 32 bits datatype.
• ee_u32 is an 32 bits datatype.

Allowed

• Changing number of iterations
• Changing toolchain and build/load/run options
• Changing method of acquiring a data memory block
• Changing the method of acquiring seed values
• Changing implementation in core_portme.c
• Changing configuration values in core_portme.h
• Changing core_portme.mak

Not allowed

• Changing of source file other then core_portme* (use make check to validate)

How to report results on a data sheet?

CoreMark 1.0 : N / C [/ P] [/ M]

• This parameter may be omitted if all data was allocated on the heap in RAM.
• This parameter may not be omitted when reporting CoreMark/MHz

e.g.

CoreMark 1.0 : 128 / GCC 4.1.2 -O2 -fprofile-use / Heap in TCRAM / FORK:2

or

CoreMark 1.0 : 1400 / GCC 3.4 -O4

If reporting scaling results, the results must be reported as follows

CoreMark/MHz 1.0 : N / C / P [/ M]

• If the core has cache and cache frequency to core frequency ratio is configurable, that must also be included.

e.g.

CoreMark/MHz 1.0 : 1.47 / GCC 4.1.2 -O2 / DDR3(Heap) 30:1 Memory 1:1 Cache

The log files have the following format

2K performance run parameters for coremark. (Run type)
CoreMark Size       : 666                   (Buffer size)
Total ticks         : 25875                 (platform dependent value)
Total time (secs)   : 25.875000             (actual time in seconds)
Iterations/Sec      : 3864.734300           (Performance value to report)
Iterations          : 100000                (number of iterations used)
Compiler version    : GCC3.4.4              (Compiler and version)
Compiler flags      : -O2                   (Compiler and linker flags)
Memory location     : Code in flash, data in on chip RAM
seedcrc             : 0xe9f5                (identifier for the input seeds)
[0]crclist          : 0xe714                (validation for list part)
[0]crcmatrix        : 0x1fd7                (validation for matrix part)
[0]crcstate         : 0x8e3a                (validation for state part)
[0]crcfinal         : 0x33ff                (iteration dependent output)
Correct operation validated. See readme.txt for run and reporting rules.  (*Only when run is successful*)
CoreMark 1.0 : 6508.490622 / GCC3.4.4 -O2 / Heap                          (*Only on a successful performance run*)

See LICENSE.txt or the word document file under docs/LICENSE.doc.  For more information on your legal rights to use this benchmark, please see http://www.coremark.org- /download- /register.php?pg=register

Many thanks to all of the individuals who helped with the development or testing of CoreMark including (Sorted by company name)

• Alan Anderson, ADI
• Adhikary Rajiv, ADI
• Elena Stohr, ARM
• Ian Rickards, ARM
• Andrew Pickard, ARM
• Trent Parker, CAVIUM
• Shay Gal-On, EEMBC
• Markus Levy, EEMBC
• Ron Olson, IBM
• Eyal Barzilay, MIPS
• Jens Eltze, NEC
• Hirohiko Ono, NEC
• Ulrich Drees, NEC
• Frank Roscheda, NEC
• Rob Cosaro, NXP
• Shumpei Kawasaki, RENESAS