Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU CS12 Computer Architecture December 1997

ADCA / MCA (III Yr)
Term-End Examination

December, 1997

CS12 : Computer Architecture

Time: 3 hours
Maximum Marks: 75

1.(a) Analyse the data dependence of the statements of the following program:

S1 : LOAD R1, 1000 / R1ß1000 /
S2 : LOAD R2, M[10] / R2ßM[10] /
S3 : Add R1, R2 / R1ßR1+R2 /
S4 : STORE M[1000], R1 / M[1000] ß R1 /
S5 : STORE M[R2], 1000 / M[R2] ß 1000 /

Assume that the location M[10] contains value 100.

Also draw the dependence graph to show all the dependences.

(b) What is meant by inclusion, coherence and locality in a memory hierarchy ?

(c) What is a sector mapping cache? Discuss with the help of an example.

(d) What is multithreading? How is it different from superscalar architecture?

(e) What are the limitations of conventional UNIX for parallel processing?

(f) What are the policies of context switching for multithreaded architecture?

2. Discuss the following terms in the context of computer architecture:
(i) Grain size and Latency
(ii) Non-uniform memory access (NUMA) model
(iii) Hypercube Routing
(iv) Scalable Metrics
(v) Software Parallelism

3.(a) What are the operations that should be performed by:
(i) Vector processors
(ii) Symbolic processors

(b) What is memory interleaving? How is it different from cache memory?

(c) What is VLIW architecture? How do you perform pipelining in VILW processors?

4. Describe the following multiprocessor system interconnections structures:
(a) Hierarchical Bus system
(b) Cross bar switch with Multiport memory
(c) Omega Network

5. (a) Describe the language features needed for parallel programming.

(b) Describe the following terms in the context of multiprocessor architecture:

(i) Multiprocessing
(ii) Multitasking

6. Write short notes on the following in the context of computer architecture:

(a) Distributed Arbitration
(b) Superpipelining
(c) Snoopy bus protocols
(d) Multifunctional arithmetic pipelines
(e) Branch handling in instruction pipelines