On rolling back and checkpointing in time warp

In this paper, we present a family of three algorithms which serve to perform checkpoints and to roll back time warp. These algorithms are primarily intended for use in simulations in which there are a large number of LPs and in which events have a small computational granularity. Important representatives of this class are VLSI and computer network simulations. In each of our algorithms, LPs are gathered into clusters via algorithms which are application dependent. In order to examine the performance of our algorithms and to compare them to Time Warp, we made use of two of the largest digital logic circuits available from the ISCAS89 benchmark series of combinational circuits. The execution time, number of states saved, and maximal memory consumption were compared to the same quantities for time warp. Our results indicated that each of the algorithms occupies a different point in the spectrum of possible trade-offs between memory usage and execution time, ranging from substantial memory savings (at a comparable cost in speed) to memory savings and a comparable speed to time warp. Hence, an important benefit of our algorithms is the ability to trade off memory requirements with execution time.