875

CIS875: Advanced Computer Architecture
(Spring 2003)

Instructor: Prof. Mario Lauria

Office: DL 783, Tel: 2-7027
E-mail: lauria@cis.ohio-state.edu
Office Hours: TR 1:30-2:00pm

Class Hours

Old: MWF 2:30-3:20pm (DL 266)
New: MW 2:30-3:45pm (DL 698)

Prerequisite

CIS 775 and CIS 721; or permission of the instructor

Grader: Sudha Srinivasan

Office: 419 Caldwell Lab, Tel 688-4903
E-mail: srinisud@cis.ohio-state.edu
Office Hours: WF 1:30-2:30pm

Course Objectives

To study the principles of advanced computer architecture.
To understand the implications of different ways of using hardware parallelism.
To learn the architectural design issues in shared memory distributed-memory, distributed shared memory, and massively-parallel systems.
To understand and appreciate architectural designs in past and present (state-of-the-art) computer systems.
To gain experience in analyzing/solving architectural design problems.
To understand the future trends in parallel computer architectures.

Texts

We will be using the following two textbooks.

Parallel Computer Architecture: A Hardware/Software Approach by David Culler (Berkeley), Jaswinder Pal Singh (Princeton), and Anoop Gupta (Stanford), Morgan Kaufmann. (Culler)
Interconnection Networks: An Engineering Approach by Jose Duato, Sudhakar Yalamanchili, and Lionel Ni, IEEE Computer Society Press, June 1997. ( Duato )

Tentative Class Syllabus

Grading Plan

There are four components:

  
- Class participation and discussion           (10%)
- Homeworks (4 or 5)                           (20%)
- Final exam                                   (35%)
  (comprehensive, 10th week, 06/06/03 evening)  
- Project                                      (35%) 
  (schedule given below)

Class Project

Due to the research-oriented nature of this course, the project will play an important part in the learning experience and in the grading process. Projects will be evaluated based on their technical quality, originality, depth of analysis, and completeness.

Projects will be mostly done in an individual manner. Maximum two people may be in a group if the scope of the project is big and there is sufficient understanding between the members that both will contribute equally to the success of the project (members will get the same grade in project). The project will be research-oriented. Depending on the nature of the topic, it may consist of one or more of the following components: theory, design, analysis, simulation, or experimental results.

You are free to consult with me while defining the project and working on it during the quarter. Those who have been already involved in 888.08P in earlier quarters can carry out their earlier projects. The new students can meet with me to discuss their research interests and we will define project topics.

I will be meeting with each of you frequently during the quarter to discuss the progress of your project.

Project Schedule

  
1st week - discussion with the instructor to select/focus topic
End of 2nd week  -  proposal (around two pages) due
End of 3rd week  -  feedback from instructor and finalizing the topic
Project Report due  - final exam week (on or before 06/13/03)

Misc

READING ASSIGNMENTS. Some light readings will be assigned from the text book for self reading.

HANDOUTS. Right now I don't anticipate any handouts in addition to those listed above; however, if I come across something interesting and relevant to the course, its copies will be distributed in the class.

MAKE-UP EXAMS. Make-up examination will only be given under circumstances where a student is prevented from taking the regular examination due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., sickness, flat tire), and a formal proof will be required to prove the prevailing circumstance.

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY. Any student who feels he or she may need an accomodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately to discuss his or her specific needs. Please contact the Office for Disability Services at (614) 292-3307, or visit 150 Pomerene Hall, to coordinate reasonable accommodations available for students with documented disabilities.

CIS875: Advanced Computer Architecture (Spring 2003)