CS441 System Architecture

Course Description

By the end of the course, you will be able to understand both the present and future of computer design for performance: parallelism. Specifically, we will cover circuit-level parallelism via circuit simulators; instruction-level transparent parallelism including pipelining, superscalar, and out-of-order execution; vector parallelism including SWAR, SIMD, and GPU programming; as well as coarser-grained parallelism including multicore, multi-thread, and distributed-memory network and cloud computing.

Tentative Schedule

1. Thu, Aug 24

   Orientation for new students

2. Mon, Aug 28

   First day of instruction; late registration begins

3. Fri, Sep 01

   Deadline to apply for admission for spring semester (international students)

4. Mon, Sep 04

   Labor Day (offices closed — no classes, registration or fee payment)

5. Fri, Sep 08

   Deadline for adding classes and late registration; 5 p.m. in person, midnight at UAOnline

6. Fri, Sep 08

   Last day for student- and faculty-initiated drops (course does not appear on academic record)

7. Mon, Sep 11

   Deadline for tuition and fee payment and refunds; 5 p.m. in person, midnight at UAOnline

8. Mon, Oct 02

   Early progress reports due

9. Sun, Oct 15

   Deadline to apply for admission for spring semester (graduate students)

10. Mon, Oct 16

    Deadline to apply for fall 2017 graduation

11. Mon, Oct 30

    Spring 2018 course list available at UAOnline

12. Wed, Nov 01

    Deadline to apply for admission for spring semester (undergraduate students)

13. Fri, Nov 03

    Last day for student- and faculty-initiated withdrawals (W grade appears on academic transcript)

14. Mon, Nov 13

    Begin registration and fee payment for degree students for spring 2018 semester and WINTERmester 2018

15. Mon, Nov 20

    Begin registration and fee payment for nondegree students for spring 2018 semester and WINTERmester 2018

16. Thu, Nov 23

    Thanksgiving holiday (no classes, most offices closed)

17. Sat, Dec 09

    Last day of instruction

18. Mon, Dec 11

    Final examinations

19. Sun, Dec 17

    Residence halls close, noon

20. Wed, Dec 20

    Deadline for faculty to post grades, noon

21. Sat, Dec 23

    Winter holiday (no classes, most offices closed; reopen Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 8 a.m.)

Grading Policies

Grades will be assigned based on the following percentage intervals:

A

[90%, 100%)

B

[80%, 90%)

C

[70%, 80%)

D

[60%, 70%)

F

[0%, 60%)

Policies

Students are expected to be at every class meeting on time, and are responsible for all class content, whether present or not. If absence from class is necessary, in-class work (other than quizzes) and homework may be made up only if the instructor is notified as soon as possible; in particular, absences due to scheduled events must be arranged ahead of time. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and will be dealt with according to UAF procedures. Students in this class must pay the CS lab fee.

UAF academic policies http://www.uaf.edu/catalog/current/academics

CS Department policies http://www.cs.uaf.edu/departmental-policies/

Disabilities Services:

The UAF Office of Disability Services implements the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and ensures that UAF students have equal access to the campus and course materials. I will work with the UAF Office of Disability Services (208 WHITAKER BLDG, 474-5655) to provide reasonable accommodation to students with disabilities.