Test Papers / Previous Question Papers of IGNOU CS12 Computer Architecture December 2000

ADCA / MCA (III Yr)
Term-End Examination

December, 2000

CS12 : Computer Architecture

Time: 3 hours
Maximum Marks: 75

1. (i) Consider a catch (M1) and memory (M2) hierarchy with the following characteristics: M1: 16 K words, 50 ns access time M2: 1 M words, 400 ns access time Assume eight word catche blocks and a set size of 256 word with set-associative mapping

· Show the mapping between M2 and M1
·Calculate the effective memory access time with a catch hit ratio of h = 0.95.

(ii) What causes a processor pipeline to be under pipelined?

(iii) What is meant by a hierarchical bus system for multiprocessing system? `

2 Discuss the following the context of parallel languages and compilers:

(i) Parallel code generation
(ii) Parallel flow control
(iii) Parallel arrays

3(i) Describe the important characteristics of parallel algorithms which are machine implementable.

(ii) Discuss the is efficiency concept in the context of the efficiency of a parallel algorithm.

4. Discuss the following in the context of computer architecture:

(i) Distributed Arbitration
(ii) Snoopy bus protocol
(iii) Branch handling in instruction pipeline

5. (i) Discuss the architectural environment for a multithreaded computer model.

(ii) What are the limitations of conventional UNIX for parallel processing systems.

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

6. Explain the structural and operational difference between register to register and memory to memory architecture in building multipipelined supercompter for vector processing. Comment on the advantages and disadvantages in using SIMD computers as compared with the use of pipelined supercomputer for vector processing.