Course Catalog 2007-2008

TKT-3206 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE I, 5 cr
Computer Architecture I

Courses persons responsible
Jari Nurmi

Implementations
Person responsible: Jari Nurmi
  Period 1 Period 2 Period 3 Period 4 Period 5 Summer
Lecture 2 h/week 2 h/week - - - -
Exercise 1 h/week 1 h/week - - - -
Exam  
(Timetable for academic year 2007-2008)

Objectives
To learn to know the architecture and basic operation principles of modern computers.

Content
Content Core content Complementary knowledge Specialist knowledge
1. Factors of computer performance and what impacts these factors. Improving performance.
 		 Benchmark suites and their interpretation.  Basic parallel processing techniques and their impact on performance. 
2. Principles of instruction execution, different instruction-set architectures, instruction types, addressing modes, data representation.  Floating-point number representation, RISC processor instruction coding and common addressing modes used.
 		 Example architectures, implementation of various software structures.
 
3. Hardware implementation of arithmetic operations (add, subtract, multiply), structure of arithmetic-logic units and their basic implementation principles.
 		 Speeding up arithmetic operations.
 		 Floating-point computation.
 
4. Control implementation principles. Single-cycle, multi-cycle, and pipelined processor implementation.
Principles of pipelining, pipeline hazards. Handling of interrupts. 		 Forwarding in pipelined processors.  Impact of pipelining on compilers, micro-programmed control. 
5. Memory hierarchy, fundamentals of cache memories. Virtual memory, paging, address translations.
 		 Speeding up address translations, replacement algorithms for caches and virtual memory.
 		 Memory technology basics. Segmentation.
 

Requirements for completing the course
Exam and accepted exercise works.

Evaluation criteria for the course

  • Used assessment scale is numeric (1-5)

    • Study material
    Type Name Auhor ISBN URL Edition, availability... Exam material Language
    Book Computer Organization and Architecture; The Hardware/software interface Patterson, Hennessy     Morgan-Kauffman, 2nd or 3rd edition Yes  English 

    Prerequisites
    Code Course Credits M/R
    TKT-1110 TKT-1110 Microprocessors 5 Mandatory

    Prequisite relations (Sign up to TUT Intranet required)

    Additional information about prerequisites
    "Microprocessors" course or equivalent basic knowledge on microprocessors.

    Distance learning

  • ITC utilized during the course

    • - In information distribution via homepage, newsgroups or mailing lists, e.g. current issues, timetables
    - In distributing and/or returning exercise work, material etc
    - In the visualization of objects and phenomena, e.g. animations, demonstrations, simulations, video clips
    - In interaction and discussion, such as online discussions, chat
    - The course utilizes a learning platform, which? Moodle

  • Estimate as a percentage of the implementation of the course

    • - Contact teaching: 60 %
    - Distance learning: 10 %
    - Proportion of a student's independent study: 30 %

  • Description of the course implementation from ICT point of view

    • Exam and compulsory exercise works are done in traditional way, requiring physical presence.

    Scaling
    Methods of instructionHours
    Lectures 48
    Exercises 36
    Assignments 28

    Other scaledHours
    Exam/midterm exam 20
    Total sum 132

    Principles and starting points related to the instruction and learning of the course

  • The most important issues are addressed in lectures, the exercises and strictly-guided exercise works are used to illustrate the characteristic phenomena in practice and to deepen the knowlegde. The textbook serves as the complete reference that provides a broader background to understand the issues raised in lectures and exercises.

    • Correspondence of content
    TKT-3200 Computer Architecture I

    Course homepage

    Last modified 09.02.2007
    Modified byJari Nurmi