CS260 Memory-Centric Computing Systems, Fall 2020
Time: Tuesday and Thursday 5:00 pm to 6:20 pm
Office hours: by appointment
Instructor: Elaheh Sadredini, elaheh@cs.ucr.edu
Course Description
Processing and analyzing large data sets drives the demand for more computation and puts even larger demand on the memory and storage infrastructure. At the same time, the performance gap between processing units and memory units is increasing, and this is a major source of performance bottleneck for memory-bound applications. Enabling the next generation of data-intensive applications requires computing to be embedded near the data, which is often called near/in-memory processing. In this seminar course, we will cover fundamental and state-of-the-art research papers in emerging trends in computer architecture, such as near-memory/in-memory computing architectures and the proposed accelerators for key applications like databases, machine learning, bioinformatics, graph processing, and pattern matching. The course will include paper presentations, class discussions, and a final project. The course objective is improving students’ skills in analyzing and presenting technical papers and ideas in computer architecture, as well as getting a cross-disciplinary research experience with a well-defined course project.
We will be using Piazza as our class forum, and our primary way of communication outside of class. All general inquiries must be made on Piazza. For group-specific questions or private questions, you can either email me or post a private question on Piazza.
Lecture presentations, class recordings, and other course materials will be posted in iLearn.
Grading and Policies
Grading Breakdown
- Paper persentation: 25%
- Class participation and discussion: 20%
- Paper review: 15%
- Final project: 40% (up to 10% bonus)
Grading Policies
- All students in the group will receive the same grade. In addition, each individual member will be given a chance to evaluate other members of the group at every milestone of the project.
- Milestone reports are to be typeset in LaTeX using the ISCA 2020 template.
Grading Scale
A+: 96 and above
A: 93-95.9
A-: 90-92.9
B+: 87-89.9
B: 83-86.9
B-: 80-82.9
C+: 77-79.9
C: 73-76.9
C-: 70-72.9
D+: 67-69.9
D: 63-66.9
D-: 60-62.9
F: Below 60
Attendance
You are expected to attend all lectures. For this course, discussion is essential!
Academic Integrity
Here at UCR we are committed to upholding and promoting the values of the Tartan Soul: Integrity, Accountability, Excellence, and Respect. As a student in this class, it is your responsibility to act in accordance with these values by completing all assignments in the manner described, and by informing the instructor of suspected acts of academic misconduct by your peers. By doing so, you will not only affirm your own integrity, but also the integrity of the intellectual work of this University, and the degree which it represents. Should you choose to commit academic misconduct in this class, you will be held accountable according to the policies set forth by the University, and will incur appropriate consequences both in this class and from Student Conduct and Academic Integrity Programs. For more information regarding University policy and its enforcement, please visit: http://conduct.ucr.edu.
Paper Review
Groups and Projects
Resources
◆ WWW Computer Architecture Home Page: a comprehensive guide to research, tools, and general information on computer architecture.
◆ Innovations in the Memory System: Rajeev Balasubramonian, Synthesis Lectures on Computer Architecture , Morgan and Claypool Publishers, 2019.
◆ Memory Systems: Cache, DRAM, Disk: Bruce Jacob, David T. Wang, and Spencer Ng, Morgan Kaufmann, 2007.