263-2210-00L Computer Architecture
| Semester | Autumn Semester 2018 |
| Lecturers | O. Mutlu |
| Periodicity | yearly recurring course |
| Language of instruction | English |
Courses
| Number | Title | Hours | Lecturers | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 263-2210-00 G | Computer Architecture | 6 hrs |
| O. Mutlu | ||||||
| 263-2210-00 A | Computer Architecture | 1 hrs | O. Mutlu |
Catalogue data
| Abstract | Computer architecture is the science and art of selecting and interconnecting hardware components to create a computer that meets functional, performance and cost goals. This course introduces the basic components of a modern computing system (processors, memory, interconnects, storage). The course takes a hardware/software cooperative approach to understanding and evaluating computing systems. |
| Objective | We will learn the fundamental concepts of the different parts of modern computing systems, as well as the latest trends by exploring the recent research in Industry and Academia. We will extensively cover memory technologies (including DRAM and new Non-Volatile Memory technologies), memory scheduling, parallel computing systems (including multicore processors and GPUs), heterogeneous computing, processing-in-memory, interconnection networks, etc. |
| Content | The principles presented in the lecture are reinforced in the laboratory through the design and simulation of a register transfer (RT) implementation of a MIPS-like pipelined processor in System Verilog. In addition, we will develop a cycle-accurate simulator of this processor in C, and we will use this simulator to explore processor design options. |
| Lecture notes | All the materials (including lecture slides) will be provided on the course website: https://safari.ethz.ch/architecture/ The video recordings of the lectures are expected to be made available after lectures. |
| Literature | We will provide required and recommended readings in every lecture. They will be mostly recent research papers presented in major Computer Architecture conferences and journals. |
| Prerequisites / Notice | Design of Digital Circuits |
Performance assessment
| Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again) | |
Performance assessment as a semester course | |
| ECTS credits | 8 credits |
| Examiners | O. Mutlu |
| Type | graded semester performance |
| Language of examination | English |
| Repetition | Repetition only possible after re-enrolling for the course unit. |
| Additional information on mode of examination | One midterm exam of 180 min (15%) One final exam of 180 min (25%) Lab assignments with submission and face-to-face interviews (45%) Homeworks (15%) Information on written aids: No books or papers are allowed. No computers, phones, calculators or electronic devices are allowed. Maximum 6 A4 hand-written pages with notes are allowed. The deadline for deregistering from this course is October 14th! Students who are still registered after that date, but do not attend the course, will officially fail the course. |
Learning materials
| Main link | Information |
| Only public learning materials are listed. | |
Groups
| No information on groups available. |
Restrictions
| There are no additional restrictions for the registration. |
Offered in
| Programme | Section | Type | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAS in Computer Science | Focus Courses and Electives | W |  |
| Computer Science Master | Focus Elective Courses Distributed Systems | W | |
| Computer Science Master | Focus Elective Courses General Studies | W | |