High Performance Computer Systems

Many applications make substantial performance demands upon the computer systems upon which those applications are deployed. In this context, performance is frequently multidimensional, including resource efficiency, power, execution speed (which can be quantified via elapsed run time, data throughput, or latency), etc. Modern computing platforms exploit parallelism and architectural diversity (e.g., co-processors such as graphics engines and/or reconfigurable logic) to achieve the desired performance goals. This course addresses the practical aspects of achieving high performance on modern computing platforms. This includes questions ranging from how the computing platform is designed to how are applications and algorithms expressed to exploit the platform's properties. Particular attention is given to the role of application development tools. Prerequisite: Familiarity with software development in Linux preferred, graduate standing or permission of instructor.