Computer Architecture

Computer Architecture 2007 4. a) Explain the function of Instruction Pipeline design.
First question is compulsory. Answer any four from the b) Distinguish between linear and non­linear pipeline 
remaining questions.
All questions carry equal marks. Answer all parts of any processors.
question at one place.
5.   a)   Explain   the   significant   characteristics   of   VLIW 
1. a) What is SIMD?
architecture.
b) Advantages of parallel processing.
b) Explain the functioning of any one commercially 
c)   Distinguish   between   Software   and   Hardware 
available processor with superscalar architecture.
pipelining.
6. a) What are the significant characteristics of MIMD 
d)   Distinguish   between   Scalar   and   Super   Scalar 
architecture
processors.
b) Explain code scheduling of ILP­processor.
e) What is Replication?
7.   a)   Discuss   instruction   issue   policies   of   Scalar 
f) What is Design space?
processors.
g) Define Virtual memory.
b) Discuss various branch prediction schemes.
2. a) Explain the evolution of computer architectures.
8. Write short notes:
     b) Discuss various computational models.
a) SIMD.
3.   a)   Distinguish   various   types   of   parallel   processing 
b) Hardware pipelining vs Software pipelining
systems.
c) Performance metrics and measures of parallelism.
     b)   Discuss   some   of   the   applications   of   parallel 
d) Shared memory architecture.
processing.
  
4.   a)   What   are   the   significant   characteristics   of 
Computer Architecture (Model paper)
Instruction level parallel processors.
1.   a)   What   do   you   understand   by   computational 
     b)   Explain   how   control   transfer   instructions   are 
models?  7x2=14
processed.
b) Distinguish between pipelining and replication
5. Explain linear and non linear pipelined processors.
c) What are data dependencies between instructions?
6. Explain the architecture of a VLIW processor and its 
d) What is delayed branching?
pipeline operations.
e)   Write   the   major   difference   between   pipelined 
7. a) Explain code scheduling of ILP processor.
processors and superscalar processors.
     b)Explain   the   significant   characteristics   of   MIMD 
f) What do you understand by The Hypercube?
architecture.
g) What is software pipelining?
8. Write short notes 
2.   a)   Describe   the   various   levels   of   abstraction   of 
    a) Super scalar processors
architectures and computer systems. (7)
    b) Data parallelism
b)   What   is   a   Design   space?   Explain   how   do   you 
    c) Computer evolution
represent it by DS trees.   (7)
    d) Register renaming.
3.   a)   Summarize   all   forms   of   parallelism   that   can   be 
exploited   at   different   processing   levels   of   a 
Computer Architecture 2006
computer  system,   including   both   uniprocessor   and 
1. a) Distinguish between MISD and MIMD.
multiprocessor approaches.  (7)
b) Define symmetric multiprocessor.
b) What are relations between languages and parallel 
c) What is pipelined processing?
architectures?  (7)
d) What is Register renaming?
4.   a)   Give   the   pipelined   instruction   processing   in   the 
e) What is instruction dispatch scheme?
Pentium.  (7)
f) What is memory hierarchy?
b)   Explain   the   concept   of   Instruction   scheduling   in 
g) What is symmetric multiprocessor?
ILP processors.  (7)
2. a) What is Parallelism?  Explain hardware parallelism 
5. a) Write clearly the instruction issue policies of scalar 
and software parallelism.
processors.  (7)
b) Explain inter­processor communication in parallel 
b) What is register renaming?   Explain with suitable 
architectures.
example.  (7)
3.   Explain   data   parallelism   and   instruction   level 
parallelism.
© Dept. of Computer Science & Engg., SRKR Engg. College, Bhimavaram-534202 1
 Computer Architecture
6.   Explain   various   branch   prediction   schemes   with 
examples.  (14)
7. a) Write the principles of VLIW architectures.  (7)
b)   Describe   the   various   connectivity   issues   of   data 
parallel computers.  (7)
8. Write short notes on the following:   (4x3.5)
a) Application scenarios of pipelines.
b) Instruction dispatch scheme
c) The Reorder Buffer (ROB)
d) MIMD architectures. 

© Dept. of Computer Science & Engg., SRKR Engg. College, Bhimavaram-534202 2

 Computer Architecture
1. Explain   the   architecture   of   a   VLIW   processor   and   its 
Question Bank
pipeline operations. [2007]
Computer evolution, Computational models
2.  Explain   the   significant   characteristics   of   VLIW 
1. Computer evolution. [2007]
architecture. [2006]
2. Discuss various computational models. [2007]
3. Write the principles of VLIW architectures. (7) [MP]
3. What do you understand by computational models? [MP] 
Superscalar processors
The concept of computer architecture
1. Distinguish   between   Scalar   and   Super   Scalar   processors. 
1. Explain the evolution of computer architectures. [2007]
[2007]
2. Describe the various levels of abstraction of architectures 
2. Write   the   major   difference   between   pipelined   processors 
and computer systems. (7) [MP]
and superscalar processors. [MP]
3. What is Design space? [2007]
3. Super scalar processors. [2007]
4. What is a Design space?  Explain how do you represent it 
4. Discuss   instruction   issue   policies   of   Scalar   processors. 
by DS trees. (7) [MP]
[2006]
Introduction to parallel processing 5. Write   clearly   the   instruction   issue   policies   of   scalar 
1. Summarize all forms of parallelism that can be exploited at  processors. (7) [MP]
different processing levels of a computer system, including  6. What is instruction dispatch scheme? [2006]
both uniprocessor and multiprocessor approaches. (7) [MP] 7. Instruction dispatch scheme [MP]
2. Discuss   some   of   the   applications   of   parallel   processing.  8. Register renaming. [2007]
[2007] 9. What is Register renaming? [2006]
3. Advantages of parallel processing. [2007] 10. What   is   register   renaming?   Explain   with   suitable 
4. What   is   Parallelism?   Explain   hardware   parallelism   and  example. (7) [MP]
software parallelism. [2006] 11. The Reorder Buffer (ROB) [MP]
5. Data parallelism. [2007] 12. Explain the functioning of any one commercially available 
6. Explain data parallelism and instruction level parallelism.  processor with superscalar architecture. [2006]
[2006]
Processing of control transfer instructions
7. Distinguish   various   types   of  parallel   processing   systems. 
1. Explain   how   control   transfer   instructions   are   processed. 
[2007]
[2007]
8. What is SIMD? [2007]
2. What is delayed branching? [MP]
9. SIMD. [2006]
3. Discuss various branch prediction schemes. [2006]
10. Distinguish between MISD and MIMD. [2006]
4. Explain various branch prediction schemes with examples. 
11. What is Replication? [2007]
(14) [MP]
12. Distinguish between pipelining and replication [MP]
13. What   are   relations   between   languages   and   parallel  Code scheduling of ILP processors
architectures? (7) [MP] 1. Explain code scheduling of ILP processor. [2007]
14. Performance metrics and measures of parallelism. [2006] 2. Explain code scheduling of ILP­processor. [2006]
3. What is software pipelining? [MP]
Introduction to Instruction-Level parallel
4. Distinguish   between   Software   and   Hardware   pipelining. 
processors
[2007]
1. What are data dependencies between instructions? [MP]
5. Hardware pipelining vs Software pipelining [2006]
2. What are the significant characteristics of Instruction level 
parallel processors. [2007] Introduction to Data-Parallel Architectures
3. Explain   the   concept   of   Instruction   scheduling   in   ILP  1. Describe   the   various   connectivity   issues   of   data   parallel 
processors. (7) [MP] computers. (7) [MP]
2. What do you understand by The Hypercube? [MP]
Pipelined processors
3. Explain   inter­processor   communication   in   parallel 
1. What is pipelined processing? [2006]
architectures. [2006]
2. Application scenarios of pipelines. [MP]
3. Explain linear and non linear pipelined processors. [2007] Introduction to MIMD architectures. 
4. Distinguish   between   linear   and   non­linear   pipeline  1. Explain   the   significant   characteristics   of   MIMD 
processors. [2006] architecture. [2007]
5. Explain the function of Instruction Pipeline design. [2006] 2. What   are   the   significant   characteristics   of   MIMD 
6. Give the pipelined instruction processing in the Pentium.  architecture. [2006]
(7) [MP] 3. MIMD architectures.[MP]
4. Shared memory architecture. [2006]
VLIW architectures
5. Define Virtual memory. [2007]
© Dept. of Computer Science & Engg., SRKR Engg. College, Bhimavaram-534202 3
 Computer Architecture
6. Define symmetric multiprocessor. [2006]
7. What is symmetric multiprocessor? [2006]
8. What is memory hierarchy? [2006]

© Dept. of Computer Science & Engg., SRKR Engg. College, Bhimavaram-534202 4