ECEN 4593 - Computer Organization
Required (ECEN majors) - 3 credit hours
On-Line Course Materials
Prerequisites: ECEN 2120, Computers as Components, and ECEN 3100, Digital Logic.
Textbooks: Computer Systems Design and Architecture, Vincent Heuring and Harry Jordan, Prentice Hall, 2004, or Computer Organization and Design, Patterson and Hennessy, 3rd Ed., Morgan Kaufman.
Course Objectives: ECEN 4593 presents the principles, characteristics, and trends of computer systems design at a level appropriate for all computer scientists and computer engineers. It expands on the role of a traditional computer architecture course, focusing largely on the hardware design, to include aspects of the complete system, comprising the hardware, operating system, compilers, and application software.
The intention is to present material that will benefit all computer scientists, even those who are more concerned with software development than with hardware design. By learning more about what is inside "the box," software developers can make more effective use of computers, often achieving dramatic performance gains.
Students will also gain an understanding of the hardware technology that has fueled the rapid progress of computer systems. Since the technology will continue to change and improve, it is important to see how these changes will affect the characteristics of future computer systems.
Lecture Topics (approximate number of lectures):
- Introduction, machine classes, ISAs, addressing modes (3)
- RISC ISA, instruction encoding, abstract RTL (4)
- Logic structures in computer design, data paths (2)
- Assembly, assemblers, simulators (1)
- Commercial CISC (3)
- Commercial RISC (2)
- Data Path and control unit implementation, exception handling (4)
- Pipelining, pipeline design, multi-issue machines (5)
- Microcoding (1)
- Number representations, arithmetic, ALU design (4)
- Floating point representation and arithmetic (2)
- Static, dynamic RAM, chips, boards, modules (2)
- Caches, cache design (3)
- I/O HW and SW (2)
- Error detection/correction, SECDED (1)
- Static and dynamic disk drive analysis (1)
- DAC/ADC Design, errors (1)
- Performance analysis (1) Design (RTL) (1)
- Networking, serial, Ethernet, Internet ISO and TCP/IP layer models (2)
- Exams, review (2)
Contribution of course to meeting the professional component: Contributes 3 semester hours to criterion 4(b) “one and one-half years of engineering topics, consisting of engineering sciences and engineering design appropriate to the student's field of study.”
Relationship of course to program outcomes:
| 3a | 3b | 3c | 3d | 3e | 3f | 3g1 | 3g2 | 3h | 3i | 3j | 3k |
| H | H | H |
Prepared by: ECEN4593 Assessment Team: Dan Connors (Chair),
Andy Pleszkun, Manish Vachharajani, and V. Heuring
March 16, 2005
