About the Intel® Simics® Simulator Public Release
Installation
Download the intel-simics-package-manager-(version) and simics-(simics version)-packages-(version) files for your host type, and then follow these steps.
On Windows*, the Intel Simics simulator requires that the Microsoft* Visual C++ Redistributable for Microsoft Visual Studio* 2015 is installed on the host. If this is not the case, download it from Microsoft and install it before starting the Intel Simics simulator installation.
Install the Intel Simics Package Manager.
- On Windows, run the Intel Simics Package Manager installer file: intel-simics-package-manager-(version)-win64.exe.
- On Linux*, unpack the tar file to a suitable location: intel-simics-package-manager-(version)-linux64.tar.gz.
To perform the installation using the Intel Simics Package Manager graphical user interface:
These instructions apply to the Intel Simics Package Manager version 1.7.2 and later:
- Start the Intel Simics Package Manager:
- On Windows, you are prompted to run the Intel Simics Package Manager at the end of the installation. If you didn't get the prompt or skipped that step, run the program from the Windows Start menu.
- On Linux, run the ispm-gui application from inside the unpacked directory.
Note If the application fails to start on older Linux versions, you may have to start the application with the --no-sandbox option, as ispm-gui --no-sandbox.
- The first time you run the Intel Simics Package Manager, specify the Intel Simics software installation location on your local machine.
- On Windows, it is recommended to use the default location.
- In the Intel Simics Package Manager, go to Platforms > Install from Repository. (By default, the Intel Simics Package Manager opens to this view.)
- Select Browse for Bundle.
- Locate the simics-(simics version)-packages-(version) file that you downloaded and select it.
- Select Create Project. This installs the Intel Simics software and creates a default Intel Simics project in a default location.
To perform the installation using the command-line interface of the Intel Simics Package Manager:
- Determine where you want to install the software, where you want to save your Intel Simics projects, and what to call the first Intel Simics project you create.
- On a Linux host, the simulator would typically be installed to a location like /opt/simics. Multiple simulator packages will be installed side-by-side in this location.
- The projects would typically be stored in the user's home directory, in a location like $HOME/simics-projects/. Each project will be a subdirectory in this location.
- Make sure you standing in the directory that contains the downloaded bundle file.
- Run the command: (unpacked-ispm-directory)/ispm packages --install-bundle simics-(simics version)-packages-(version).ispm --install-dir (install-location-for-Simics) --create-project (location-for-projects)/(first-project-name)
After installation is complete, to begin using the software, see the Get Started Guide.
Enable the Use of Virtualization
When simulating Intel® architecture targets on an Intel host, the processor models can use Intel® Virtualization Technology for Intel® 64 and IA-32 architectures (Intel® VT-x) to run instructions directly on the host. If an Intel target is being simulated and virtualization is not being used, a note displays on startup indicating that performance could be improved.
To enable the use of virtualization on Windows hosts:
- To start a terminal in your project from the Intel Simics Package Manager, go to the Project Manager view.
- Select your project, and then select the >_ button (Open in terminal).
- In the terminal, enter the following Windows CMD command: bin\vmp-kernel-load.bat
(Windows prompts you for admin privileges as part of running the script.)
To enable the use of virtualization on Linux hosts:
- To start a terminal in your project from the Intel Simics Package Manager, go to the Project Manager view.
- Select your project, and then select the >_ button (Open in terminal).
- Issue the command: bin/vmp-kernel-install
If needed, the script will prompt you for sudo privilege.
Update to a New Version
- Go to the Intel Simics simulator download page.
- From the version menu, select the most recent version (it should be selected by default).
- If the Intel Simics Package Manager version listed is newer than the one you installed, download and install it first.
- Download the new simics-(simics version)-packages-(version) file.
- Start the Intel Simics Package Manager, just like you did when installing the simulator for the first time.
- Go to Platforms > Install from Repository. (By default, the Intel Simics Package Manager opens to this view.)
- Select Browse for Bundle.
- Locate the new simics-(simics version)-packages-(version) file that you downloaded, and then select it.
- Select the menu arrow on the Finish button. Select Continue in Advanced Mode.
- To update your Intel Simics projects to use the new version, go to the Project Manager.
- Select a project.
- Select Manage Packages to associate the newly installed Intel Simics packages with the project.
Note You can have several versions of the same Intel Simics package installed at the same time. Each Intel Simics project uses a specific set of packages and versions. This allows different sets of package versions to be used at the same time from different projects. Thus, known-good setups can remain stable even as new package versions are added to the installation.
Additional Resources
Intel Simics Simulator Get Started