Main goal of the class is to provide the knowledge and methodologies that allow the student to understand the fundamental processes typical of modern digital computers. The main aspects of the computer design, in particular those influencing its final performance in its specific use, will be addressed. Particular emphasis will be given to new frontiers, such as embedded applications, that overcome the limits of the personal computer era (multimedia systems, DSP, low-power computers, high-performance computers, etc.)
During the class the main architectural blocks of all modern microprocessor will be analyzed, then the qualitative and quantitative characteristics that allow specialization of the architecture to the different application scenarios will be illustrated.
| Lectures and exercises |
hours |
| Topics |
Specific contents |
|
| Fundamentali principles |
Technological issues in computer development. Performance evaluation. Evaluation of design alternatives. The computer’s general architecture. |
5
|
| The processor and the instruction set |
Instruction set design. Main modern instruction sets. From instruction set to processors. Structure and performance evaluation criteria. Low-power and high-performance architectures. |
10
|
| The memory hierarchy |
Memory-performance relationchip. Spatial and temporal locality principles. Virtual memory. The main blocks of the memory hierarchy. Performance optimization techniques and methodologies. |
10
|
| The Input/Output |
I/O general principles and problems. The communication channels among processor, memory, peripherals and among peripherals. The mass storage memory. |
10
|
| Non-conventional architectures |
Non-algorithmic systems. Parallel architectures. High-level language processors. |
5
|
| Total hours for lectures and exercises |
40 |
| for exercises only |
|
|
Further educational activities
|
hours
|
| Labs |
|
| Tutorials / Seminars |
|
| Workshops |
|
| Guided tours |
|
| |
|
| Total hours for further educational activities |
0 |
| Total hours |
40
|