Topics in Computer Architecture. (3-0) 3 Credit Hours

Catalog description

Prerequisite: EE 5123 or consent of instructor. Topic 1: Parallel and Distributed Computing. Multiprocessor and multicomputer systems, shared-memory and distributed memory systems, exploitation of parallelism, data partitioning and task scheduling, multiprocessor system interconnects, message passing and data routing, parallel programming. Topic 2: RISC Processor Design, RISC Concept. RISC versus CISC, RISC advantages and disadvantages, various processor survey and applications, study of software development tools: assemblers, compilers, simulators, RISC implementations. Topic 3: Superscalar Microprocessor Architecture. Definition of superscalar, superpipelined, and VLIW processors; available parallelism in programs; branch prediction techniques; memory systems for superscalar processors; trace caches; memory disambiguation and load/store recording; performance evaluation techniques; multimedia extensions in superscalar processors. Topic 4: Fault Tolerance and Reliable System Design. Reliability and availability techniques, maintainability and testing techniques, evaluation criteria, fault-tolerant computing, fault-tolerant multiprocessors, design methodology for high reliability systems. Topic 5: Computer Arithmetic. Fundamental principles of algorithms for performing arithmetic operations in digital computers. Number systems, fast implementations of arithmetic operations and elementary functions, design of arithmetic units using CAD tools. Topic 6: Advanced Computer Architecture. Superscalar and vector processors, advanced pipelining techniques, instruction-level parallelism and dynamic scheduling techniques, advanced memory hierarchy design. May be repeated for credit as topics vary. This course has Differential Tuition.