Parallel System Architectures

6 EC

Semester 1, period 3

5284PASA6Y

Owner Master Computer Science (joint degree)
Coordinator prof. dr. A.D. Pimentel
Part of Master Computer Science (joint degree), track Parallel Computing Systems,

Course manual 2021/2022

Course content

This course builds on a basic knowledge of microprocessor architecture. It develops this with and emphasis on instruction-level concurrency in microprocessor design and concurrency in both memory systems and parallel/distributed computing systems. The topics that are covered include superscalar and VLIW processor architectures, instruction- and thread-level parallelism, memory hierarchy, distributed- and shared-memory parallel computers, interconnection networks and new architecture trends.

Study materials

Literature

  • John Hennessy and David Patterson,'Computer Architecture: a Quantitative Approach', Morgan Kaufmann, 3rd ed. or later

Objectives

  • To understand the principles and design of modern (multi-core) microprocessor systems and how such processors can be aggregated, using interconnection networks, into parallel/distributed computing systems.
  • Building a simulation model of a cache-coherent multicore system, with which cache behavior in such multiprocessor systems can be analyzed and evaluated
  • Performing reviews of scientific paper(s)

Teaching methods

  • Lecture
  • Computer lab session/practical training
  • Self-study

Learning activities

Activity

Number of hours

Lectures

24

Supervised computer labs

26

Self study

118

Attendance

Programme's requirements concerning attendance (TER-B):

  • In the case of a practical training, the student must attend at least 100% of the practical sessions. Should the student attend less than 100%, the student must repeat the practical training, or the Examinations Board may have one or more supplementary assignments issued.
  • In the case of a tutorial, the student must attend at least 100% of the tutorial sessions. Should the student attend less 100%, the student must repeat the tutorial, or the Examinations Board may have one or more supplementary assignments issued.

Assessment

Item and weight Details

Final grade

1 (50%)

Computer lab assignments

Must be ≥ 5

1 (50%)

Theory assignments

Must be ≥ 5

To pass the average of the lab + theory needs to be >= 5.5

Inspection of assessed work

Contact your supervisor to make an appointment for inspection.

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Will be provided on Canvas.

Timetable

The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.

Additional information

Prior knowledge: Students need to have programming skills in C/C++, and basic knowledge on computer organization.

Contact information

Coordinator

  • prof. dr. A.D. Pimentel