Prerequisite (if any): Foundations of Computing Systems, Computer Architecture Lab (prerequisite/corequisite)
Course Content
Introduction: Performance and power characteristics of a computer (3 lectures)
Instruction Set Architecture: Representation of Instructions, Machine instructions, Operands, addressing modes, Instruction formats, Instruction sets, Instruction set architectures - CISC and RISC architectures. (6 lectures)
Organization of a processor: Registers, ALU and Control unit, Data path in a CPU, Instruction cycle, Organization of a control unit - Operations of a control unit, Hardwired control unit, Microprogrammed control unit, pipelining and pipeline hazards (9 lectures)
Memory Subsystem: Semiconductor memories, Memory cells - SRAM and DRAM cells, Internal Organization of a memory chip, Organization of a memory unit, Error correction memories, Interleaved memories, Cache memory unit
- Concept of cache memory, Mapping methods, Organization of a cache memory unit, Fetch and write mechanisms, Memory management unit - Concept of virtual memory, Address translation, Hardware support for memory management. (9 lectures)
I/O Subsystem and System Interconnection: I/O transfers - Program controlled, Interrupt driven and DMA, Privileged and non-privileged instructions, Software interrupts and exceptions. Programs and processes role of interrupts in process state transitions (9 lectures)
Advanced Topics: Parallel architectures, SIMD, MIMD etc., Future trends (6 lectures)
Learning Outcomes
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State the history and development of modern computer systems.
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Interpret data representation and computer arithmetic.
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Determine the key aspects of microarchitecture and instruction set architecture
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Estimate performance of computer systems and suggest methods for performance enhancement
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Specify the importance of memory hierarchy for efficient memory design and virtual memory to overcome memory wall.
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Predict performance of IO subsystems
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Describe emerging computing trends and some parallel architectures
Textbooks
- Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface. 1st Edition By David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy, ISBN 978-0128122754, Morgan Kaufmann.
- Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach. By John L. Hennessy and David A. Patterson ISBN: 012383872X
- Smruti R Sarangi, Computer Organisation and Architecture, McGraw Hill Education, 1st edition, 2017, ISBN-13: 978-9332901834
References
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Andrew S. Tanenbaum, Structured Computer Organization, Prentice Hall, 6th edition, 2012, ISBN: 978-0132916523.
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C. Hamacher, Z. Vranesic and S. Zaky, Computer Organization, McGraw-Hill, 5th edition,2002, ISBN: 0072320869.
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J.L.Hennessy, D.A.Patterson, Computer Architecture: a quantitative approach, Morgan Kaufmann, 5th edition, 2011, ISBN: 978-1558605961.