A Cellular, Language Directed Computer Architecture

If a VLSI computer architecture is to influence the field of computing in some major way, it must have attractive properties in all important aspects affecting the design, production, and the use of the resulting computers. A computer architecture that is believed to have such properties is briefly discussed

Techniques for improving reliability of computers

Modular design techniques improve methods of error detection, diagnosis, and recovery. Theoretical computer (MARCS (Modular Architecture for Reliable Computer Systems)) study deals with postulated and modeled technology indigenous to 1975-1980. Study developments are discussed

Layered architecture for quantum computing

We develop a layered quantum computer architecture, which is a systematic framework for tackling the individual challenges of developing a quantum computer while constructing a cohesive device design. We discuss many of the prominent techniques for implementing circuit-model quantum computing and introduce several new methods, with an emphasis on employing surface code quantum error correction. In doing so, we propose a new quantum computer architecture based on optical control of quantum dots. The timescales of physical hardware operations and logical, error-corrected quantum gates differ by several orders of magnitude. By dividing functionality into layers, we can design and analyze subsystems independently, demonstrating the value of our layered architectural approach. Using this concrete hardware platform, we provide resource analysis for executing fault-tolerant quantum algorithms for integer factoring and quantum simulation, finding that the quantum dot architecture we study could solve such problems on the timescale of days.Comment: 27 pages, 20 figure

Design of a processor to support the teaching of computer systems

Teaching computer systems, including computer architecture, assembly language programming and operating system implementation, is a challenging occupation. At the University of Waikato this is made doubly true because we require all computer science and information systems students study this material at second year. The challenges of teaching difficult material to a wide range of students have driven us to find ways of making the material more accessible. The corner stone of our strategy for delivering this material is the design and implementation of a custom CPU that meets the needs of teaching. This paper describes our motivation and these needs. We present the CPU and board design and describe the implementation of the CPU in an FPGA. The paper also includes some reflections on the use of a real CPU rather than a simulation environment. We conclude with a discussion of how the CPU can be used for advanced classes in computer architecture and a description of the current status of the project

Analysis, Tracing, Characterization and Performance Modeling of Select ASCI Applications for BlueGene/L Using Parallel Discrete Event Simulation

Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Center for Advanced Computer Architecture (CACR) are conducting application and simulation analyses of Blue Gene/L[1] in order to establish a range of effectiveness of the architecture in performing important classes of computations and to determine the design sensitivity of the global interconnect network in support of real world ASCI application execution

Form and Data - from linear Calculus to cybernetic Computation and Interaction

Digital architecture developed in the 1960s and, supported by CAAD the 1990s, has created the path towards an architecture produced by computer and architect in a mutual relationship. The evolution of architecture since the 1970s led to the beginning of the first digital turn in the 1990s, and subsequently to the emergence of new typologies of buildings, architects and design tools; atom-based, bit-based (virtual) [1], and cyber-physical as a combination of both. The paper provides an insight into historical foundations of CAAD insofar as it engages with complexity in mechanics, geometry, and space between the 1600s and 1950s. I will address a selection of principles discovered, and mechanisms invented before computer-aided-architectural-design; those include the typewriter, the Cartesian grid and a pre-cyber-physical system by Hermann von Helmholtz. The paper concludes with a summary and an outlook to the future of CAAD challenged by the variety of correlations of disparate data sets

Computer architecture for efficient algorithmic executions in real-time systems: New technology for avionics systems and advanced space vehicles

Improvements and advances in the development of computer architecture now provide innovative technology for the recasting of traditional sequential solutions into high-performance, low-cost, parallel system to increase system performance. Research conducted in development of specialized computer architecture for the algorithmic execution of an avionics system, guidance and control problem in real time is described. A comprehensive treatment of both the hardware and software structures of a customized computer which performs real-time computation of guidance commands with updated estimates of target motion and time-to-go is presented. An optimal, real-time allocation algorithm was developed which maps the algorithmic tasks onto the processing elements. This allocation is based on the critical path analysis. The final stage is the design and development of the hardware structures suitable for the efficient execution of the allocated task graph. The processing element is designed for rapid execution of the allocated tasks. Fault tolerance is a key feature of the overall architecture. Parallel numerical integration techniques, tasks definitions, and allocation algorithms are discussed. The parallel implementation is analytically verified and the experimental results are presented. The design of the data-driven computer architecture, customized for the execution of the particular algorithm, is discussed

Low Power system Design techniques for mobile computers

Portable products are being used increasingly. Because these systems are battery powered, reducing power consumption is vital. In this report we give the properties of low power design and techniques to exploit them on the architecture of the system. We focus on: min imizing capacitance, avoiding unnecessary and wasteful activity, and reducing voltage and frequency. We review energy reduction techniques in the architecture and design of a hand-held computer and the wireless communication system, including error control, sys tem decomposition, communication and MAC protocols, and low power short range net works

Two Case Studies of Subsystem Design for General-Purpose CSCW Software Architectures

This paper discusses subsystem design guidelines for the software architecture of general-purpose computer supported cooperative work systems, i.e., systems that are designed to be applicable in various application areas requiring explicit collaboration support. In our opinion, guidelines for subsystem level design are rarely given most guidelines currently given apply to the programming language level. We extract guidelines from a case study of the redesign and extension of an advanced commercial workflow management system and place them into the context of existing software engineering research. The guidelines are then validated against the design decisions made in the construction of a widely used web-based groupware system. Our approach is based on the well-known distinction between essential (logical) and physical architectures. We show how essential architecture design can be based on a direct mapping of abstract functional concepts as found in general-purpose systems to modules in the essential architecture. The essential architecture is next mapped to a physical architecture by applying software clustering and replication to achieve the required distribution and performance characteristics

Design techniques for low-power systems

Portable products are being used increasingly. Because these systems are battery powered, reducing power consumption is vital. In this report we give the properties of low-power design and techniques to exploit them on the architecture of the system. We focus on: minimizing capacitance, avoiding unnecessary and wasteful activity, and reducing voltage and frequency. We review energy reduction techniques in the architecture and design of a hand-held computer and the wireless communication system including error control, system decomposition, communication and MAC protocols, and low-power short range networks