Robert Bedichek. ``Talisman: Fast and Accurate Multicomputer
Simulation''. Performance Evaluation Review, vol. 23, no. 1,
pp. 14-24, May 1995.

Abstract: Talisman is a simulator that models the execution semantics
and timing of a multicomputer. Talisman is unique in combining high
semantic accuracy, high timing accuracy, portability, and good
performance. This good performance allows users to run significant
programs on large simulated multicomputers. The combination of high
accuracy and good performance yields an ideal tool for evaluating
architectural trade-offs. Talisman models the semantics of virtual
memory, a circuit-switched internode interconnect, I/O devices, and
instruction execution in both user and supervisor modes.  It also
models the timing of processor pipelines, caches ,local memory buses,
and a circuit-switched interconnect.  Talisman executes the same
program binary images as a hardware prototype at a cost of about 100
host instructions per simulated instruction.  On a suite of accuracy
benchmarks run on the hardware and the simulator ,Talisman and the
prototype differ in reported running times by only a few percent.