Parallel Architectures (Level 10) (U01964)

? Credit Points : 10 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : INF-4-PA

The aims of this course are twofold: (a) to investigate the various forms of parallelism found in uniprocessors and in multiprocessor and multicomputer systems; (b) to explore the issues which arise in these systems in terms of: (i) ensuring that programs are executed correctly by the hardware; (ii) maximising performance.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Computer Architecture Successful completion of Year 3 of an Informatics Single or Combined Honours Degree, or equivalent by permission of the School.

? Prohibited combinations : Parallel Architectures (Level 11)

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Computer Systems Organisation, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Other subject areas

Parallel and Distributed Computing, (School of Informatics, Schedule O)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 10 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
08/01/2008	10:00	10:50			To Be Confirmed

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	10:00	10:50	Central
Lecture	Friday	10:00	10:50	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

After completing the course succcessfully, students should be able to:
- Describe the various forms of parallelism found in modern computer systems and the techniques used (a) to ensure that programs are executed correctly by parallel hardware (b) to maximise performance.
- Assess the effectiveness of techniques used to enhance the performance of computer systems.
- Use web-based simulation models of computer systems to investigate hardware/software performance trade-offs.
- Record observations of on-line experiments, present this information in a variety of formats and draw conclusions from it.