CMSC 611

Advanced Computer Architecture

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This is a graduate class on computer architecture. Students in the class should have completed CMSC 411 or an equivalent undergraduate class on computer architecture.

This class provides a broad introduction to advanced topics in computer architecture. Topics to be covered include memory system design, pipeline structures, vector and scientific processors, multiprocessors, and storage systems. The emphasis in each topic is on fundamental limitations and the tradeoffs involved in designing computer systems, including memory & processing bandwidth, network bandwidth & latency, synchronization, and storage system bandwidth & latency.

Basic stuff

When:	MW 5:30 - 6:45 PM
Where:	MP 010
Instructor:	Dr. Ethan Miller (elm@cs.umbc.edu)
Office hours:	M 4-5 PM, Tu 5-6 PM
TA:	Zhiguang Han (zhan@cs.umbc.edu)
Office hours:	W 6:45-7:30 PM, Th 3-4 PM
Prerequisite:	CMSC 411 or instructor's permission

Course information

Term project milestone dates

The dates marked with a (*) will require a 10 minute meeting with me to make sure all is going well with your project. These meetings will be scheduled on a signup sheet which will be available in class and (afterwards) posted outside my office. Signups will generally occur the class before the meetings. Meeting times will generally be either just before or just after class. If you can't make any of the remaining meeting times, please see me to schedule one. Also, if you can't make a meeting for a good reason, please let me know and we'll reschedule. Because the schedule is tight, though, the rescheduled meeting may not be on Monday or Wednesday.

This page only lists the project milestone dates. For further information on the project, see the information page for the class.

16 Sep 1996 (*): Group & project selection
Each group should turn in a single page listing the group members (with e-mail addresses) and a brief description of the project.
9 Oct 1996: Background research well underway
Each group should turn in a list of papers on its topic. These papers will form the basis for your project. You need not have read every paper by this date, but you should have read some of them.
28 Oct 1996 (*): Preliminary plans & design
By this time, your group should have its project planned out and designed. Early results would be welcome, but not required.
9 & 11 Dec 1996: Project presentations
One member of the group will present their project in a brief (10 - 15 minute) presentation. This presentation should focus on quantitative results.
11 Dec 1996: Written project report due
Each group must hand in a written report on the last day of class. This report should describe the background material, the project design, and any results. A sample paper is available.

Exams

There will be two midterms and a final exam. All will be open book, open note exams. You're (strongly) encouraged to bring a calculator.

Midterm #1: 16 October 1996 [Solutions]
Midterm #2: 20 November 1996 [Solutions]
Final: Monday, 16 December 1996, 6-8 PM

Homeworks

Both the due dates and the assignments are subject to change. If this happens, I'll announce the changes in class well before they would affect anyone. I'll also post the changes to this WWW page. In general, homework assignments will be due one week after I finish covering the necessary material.

IMPORTANT: the homework problems are taken from the second edition of Hennessy & Patterson's text. If you use the questions from the first edition, you won't be doing the right homework.

Homework #1 (due 18 Sep 1996): 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.15 [Solutions]
Homework #2 (due 25 Sep 1996): 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.11 [Solutions]
Homework #3 (due 9 Oct 1996): 3.1, 3.5, 3.9, 3.10 [Solutions]
Homework #4 (due 30 Oct 1996): 4.5, 4.7, 4.10, 4.25, B.2, B.3 (parts a-e only) [Solutions]
Homework #5 (due 13 Nov 1996): 5.1, 5.5, 5.7, 5.9, 5.21 [Solutions]
Homework #6 (due Dec 1995): 6.5, 6.6, 6.8, 6.19 [Solutions]

Reading assignments

In general, you should read the book before the class that covers the material. The dates here will thus correspond (approximately) to the dates on which we'll start discussing the material in class. Of course, we won't cover all of the material on the first day, but you should be well into the chapter by that date.

Chapter 1: 4 Sep 1996
Chapter 2: 9 Sep 1996
Chapter 3: 18 Sep 1996
Chapter 4: 7 Oct 1996
Appendix B: 23 Oct 1996
Chapter 5: 28 Oct 1996
Chapter 6: 11 Nov 1996
Chapter 8: 2 Dec 1996

Other relevant home pages

CMSC 411 home page
CMSC 811 home page
UMBC CSEE home page
WWW Computer Architecture Home Page
CPU Information Center
Great Microprocessors of the Past and Present
Tracebase - a source for CPU instruction traces

Last updated by Ethan Miller (elm@cs.umbc.edu)