14:332:434 Introduction to Computer Systems

Course catalog description: Multicore architecture, multicore CPU management, multicore job scheduling, thread synchronization, cache, coherency, multicore memory management, multicore file system, I/O.

Credits and contact hours: 3 credits; 1 hour and 20-minitue session, twice a week, every week.

Pre-Requisite courses: 14:332:331; 14:332:351 or 01:198:112

Co-Requisite courses: None

Topics Covered:

  • Modern multi core computer architecture
  • Process state, context switch, threads on multi core machines
  • Multi core CPU scheduling
  • Concurrency, synchronization, communication
  • Virtual, memory, paging
  • Cache coherency for multi core machines
  • File structure, directories 
  • File system considerations for multi core
  • I/O hardware and software
  • I/O challenges for multi core

Textbook: Operating System Concepts by Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne

Other supplemental material: Parallel Computer Organization and design by Dubois, Annavaram, Stenstrom