Advanced Computer Architecture
(3-0-0-3)
CMPE Degree: This course is Not Applicable for the CMPE degree.
EE Degree: This course is Not Applicable for the EE degree.
Lab Hours: 0 supervised lab hours and 0 unsupervised lab hours.
Technical Interest Group(s) / Course Type(s): Computer Systems and Software
Course Coordinator: Tushar Krishna
Prerequisites: ECE 3057/ECE 3058
Catalog Description
Comprehensive coverage of the architecture and system issues that confrontthe design of a high performance workstation/PC computer architectures
with emphasis on quantitaive evaluation. Credit is not allowed for both
ECE 6100 and any of the following courses: ECE 4100, CS 4290, CS 6290.
Textbook(s)
Computer Architecture: A Quantitative ApproachCourse Outcomes
Not Applicable
Strategic Performance Indicators (SPIs)
Outcome 1 (Students will demonstrate expertise in a subfield of study chosen from the fields of electrical engineering or computer engineering):
1. Design and analyze pipelined processors with advanced techniques such as out-of-order execution and speculation
2. Design cache-based memory systems for both uniprocessors and multiprocessors
Outcome 2 (Students will demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate advanced problems and apply knowledge of mathematics and science to solve those problems):
1. Analytically model latency and throughput for processors and caches
Outcome 3 (Students will demonstrate the ability to utilize current knowledge, technology, or techniques within their chosen subfield):
1. Understand the implication of Moore's Law / Technology Scaling on performance and power of modern processors
Topical Outline
1. Pipelines
a. review basic principles, hazards, dependencies
b. Data hazards, scoreboards, Tomasulo algorithm
c. control hazards, branch prediction techniques
d. multiple instruction issue
e. compiler support
f. speculative execution
g. performance evaluation
2. Memory systems
a. review of caches principles
b. techniques to reduce cache misses, multi-level caches
c. techniques to reduce hit time
d. techniques to improve main memory performance
e. virtual memory
3. Storage Systems (6)
a. review of storage technologies, magnetic disk basics
b. I/O performance measures, benchmarks
c. reliability, availability, RAID
d. interaction with caches, OS
4. Parallel Computers
a. taxonomy of parallel architectures, parallel applications
b. synchronization mechanisms
c. bus based cache coherence protocols
d. directory based cache coherence protocols
e. memory consistency models, relaxed consistency models
f. interconnection networks, bi-section bandwidth, topologies
g. networked workstation cluster computers