1. [Publications](/publications) 2. Approxilyzer: Towards A Systematic Framework for Instruction-Level Approximate Computing and its Application to Hardware Resiliency # Approxilyzer: Towards A Systematic Framework for Instruction-Level Approximate Computing and its Application to Hardware Resiliency ![Publication image](/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/default_images/default.jpeg?itok=qUFsuJCP "Publication image") Approximate computing environments trade off computational accuracy for improvements in performance, energy, and resiliency cost. For widespread adoption of approximate computing, a fundamental requirement is to understand how perturbations to a computation affect the outcome of the execution in terms of its output quality. This paper presents a framework for approximate computing, called Approxilyzer, that quantifies the quality impact of a single-bit error in all dynamic instructions of an execution with high accuracy (95% on average). We demonstrate two uses of Approxilyzer. First, we show how Approxilyzer can be used to quantitatively tune output quality vs. resiliency vs. overhead to enable ultra-low cost resiliency solutions (with a single bit error model). For example, we show that Approxilyzer determines that a very small loss in output quality (1%) can yield large resiliency overhead reduction (up to 55%) for 99% resiliency coverage. Second, we show how Approxilyzer can be used to provide a first-order estimate of the approximation potential of general-purpose programs. It does so in an automated way while requiring minimal user input and no program modifications. This enables programmers or other tools to focus on the promising subset of approximable instructions for further analysis. ## Authors Radha Venkatagiri (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) Abdulrahman Mahmoud (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) [Siva Hari](/person/siva-hari) Sarita Adve (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) ## Publication Date Saturday, October 15, 2016 ## Published in [International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO)](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7783745) ## Research Area [Computer Architecture](/research-area/computer-architecture) [High Performance Computing](/research-area/high-performance-computing) [Resilience and Safety](/research-area/resilience) ## External Links [IEEE Digital Library](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7783745) ## Uploaded Files [Published manuscript](https://d1qx31qr3h6wln.cloudfront.net/publications/MICRO_2016_Approxilyzer.pdf "Open file in new window")1.24 MB ## Copyright This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to .