ECET 33500 - Computer Architecture And Performance Evaluation

Credit Hours: 3.00.

The course focuses on the evaluation, implementation and application of computers and embedded systems. The architecture of modern computer CPUs and their peripheral subsystems are presented at the block level, with emphasis on the memory hierarchy, techniques for performance improvement, and the instruction set. Analytic performance evaluation techniques, including probability and stochastic processes, are introduced and developed, as well as common benchmarking tools for quantifying performance and solving problems. Students apply common performance evaluation tools and implement performance evaluation algorithms of their own creation, comparing time and space performance.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify, explain, and analyze the performance of a CPU.

2. Identify, explain, and analyze the performance of computer memory subsystems.

3. Identify the primary computer instruction components and explain their function.

4. Distinguish performance trade-offs between pipelined and non-pipelined instruction execution, and identify and explain hazard conditions.

5. Apply probabilistic methods to determine the bit and multiple bit error probabilities on a link (or computer bus trace) given a bit error rate (BER).

6. Calculate buffer (queue) size requirements based on probabilistic arrival processes and service time distributions.

7. Demonstrate the use of common performance evaluation tools and analyze the data produced.

8. Design and implement programs to observe and characterize computer subsystem performance.

Prerequisites:

ECET 27900 Minimum Grade of D- and

(MA 22200 Minimum Grade of D- or

MA 22800 Minimum Grade of D- or

MA 22400 Minimum Grade of D- or

MA 16200 Minimum Grade of D- or

MA 16600 Minimum Grade of D- or

MA 23000 Minimum Grade of D- or

MATH M1200 Minimum Grade of D- or

MATH M2090 Minimum Grade of D- or

MATH M2160 Minimum Grade of D-) and

STAT 22500 Minimum Grade of D- [may be taken concurrently]

Restrictions:

Must be enrolled in Electrical Engineering Technology

Audiences