A Systems Approach to a Modern Computer Architecture Laboratory

计算机体系结构通常从以CPU为中心，深度超过广度，上下文无关的角度进行教学。这种方法对计算机科学和软件工程专业的有效性似乎值得怀疑。我们将开发一个计算机体系结构的实验室课程，它将计算机体系结构的思想放在系统的背景下，强调应用程序的架构知识是软件和系统开发必不可少的。我们将专注于我们的新计算机系统架构课程的领域是架构子系统（CPU，内存，I/O），性能评估，并行架构和高性能计算。我们将使用模拟和实验作为教学概念的手段，以及重要的活动本身。我们将开发14个实验练习。共享内存的多处理器将使现代体系结构的子系统的研究，支持实验性能评估，包括基准测试，并教一个商业上常见的多处理器上的软件开发的介绍。其他实验室将使用性能监控和仿真软件来研究架构子系统、它们的交互以及它们对性能的影响。支持商用软件的工作站网络计算模型将使学生深入了解并行处理。一个简短的和基本的介绍逻辑门和电路与陪同实验板实验室将解除神秘化的现代计算机的计算元素。我们的项目的评估计划包括一个纵向研究，以评估学生对计算机体系结构的态度变化，和第二个研究，以衡量我们的实验室为基础的课程对学生的基本计算机体系结构概念的知识的功效。

Computer architecture has been typically taught from a CPU-centric, depth-over-breadth, context-free perspective. The efficacy of this approach for computer science and software- engineering majors seems questionable. We will develop a laboratory curriculum for computer architecture which places the ideas of computer architecture in a systems context, emphasizing applications where knowledge of architecture is essential for software and system development. The areas on which we will focus our new computer systems architecture course are architectural subsystems (CPU, memory, I/O), performance evaluation, parallel architectures, and high performance computing. We will use simulations and experiments as a means of teaching concepts, as well as important activities in themselves. We will develop fourteen laboratory exercises. A shared-memory multiprocessor will enable the study of modern architectural subsystems, support experimental performance evaluation including benchmarking, and teach an introduction to software development on a commercially common multiprocessor. Other labs will use performance monitoring and simulation software to study architectural subsystems, their interaction, and their impact on performance. Commercial software to support the network of workstations computing model will give students insights into parallel processing. A short and basic introduction to logic gates and circuits with accompanying breadboard laboratory will de-mystify the computing elements of modern computers. The evaluation plan for our project includes a longitudinal study to assess student change in attitude towards computer architecture, and a second study to measure the efficacy of our laboratory based curriculum on student's knowledge of fundamental computer architecture concepts.