Fall 2008

CSE375: Hardware & Software Topics in Parallel Computing

Instructor:
Liang Cheng, Ph.D.
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday from 4 PM to 5 PM, or by appointment
( Appointments other than office hours have to be requested by email with the subject of appointment explained. )
Packard Lab 326
Phone: (610) 758-5941
URL: http://www.cse.lehigh.edu/~cheng/
Email: cheng@cse.lehigh.edu

Lecture Schedules:
Tuesday and Thursday mornings: 9:20-10:35 AM in Mohler Lab 110;
Some lecture slides are provided by the author of the textbook.

Course Description:
Introduction to parallel computing, covering both hardware and software topics such as parallel computing architecture (interconnection networks, SIMD, MIMD, and hybrid parallel architecture) and parallel programming techniques related to message passing and shared memory programming.
Course Objective:
After you complete this course, you should be able to: list various types of parallel computers and their architectures, describe the concepts underlying the design, implementation, and use of message-passing computing and shared-memory computing, set up cluster computing systems, code and evaluate the performance of parallel programs, and choose suitable programming strategies in parallelizing computational tasks.
Prerequisites by topics:
ECE 201 (Computer Architecture) and CSE 303 (Operating System Design) previously or concurrently, or consent of the instructor.

Textbook:
B. Wilkinson and M. Allen, Parallel Programming: Techniques and Applications using Networked Workstations and Parallel Computers, Pearson Prentice Hall, 2nd Edition, 2005
Grading: (subject to change)
Homework (5-6 assignments):30%
Midterm:20%
Individual Projects (2 projects):20%
Group Project:10%
Final exam:20%

All exams are closed book. Sample exam questions will be provided one week before the exam.

Submitting Work:
You should submit your work through the Blackboard course website. Your submission should be plain text (ASCII), PDF, or a Microsoft Word file. Any other format will not be accepted, unless you arrange for an exception ahead of time due to special circumstances.
Homework assignments will be graded primarily for completeness and correctness.
Homework is due on every Monday at 23:55 (i.e. 11:55 PM). No late hand-in homework will be accepted. Exceptions will only be granted if an extenuating circumstance can be proven to the instructor's satisfaction.
Collaboration / Academic Honesty:
All graded work is expected to be your own, unless the instructor has authorized collaboration in writing. In particular, you are not allowed to ask anyone but the instructor for help with your homework or programming assignments. However, you are free to discuss the topics and concepts of the course with your classmates, as long as you do not discuss the specifics of any assignment. Any violation of this policy could result in failure of the course.

Please visit the following two websites and read all details of the academic integrity policy: Academic Integrity at Lehigh University: http://www.lehigh.edu/~indost/integrity.html and Improper Collaboration Policy: http://www.lehigh.edu/~ejk0/cheating.html. Another website about Ante-Plagiarism.

For the group project, the group project report should explicitly specify the role and task(s) performed by each member, along with all group meeting minutes.

Academic Accommodations:

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting accommodations, please contact both your instructor and the Office of Academic Support Services, University Center 212 (610-758-4152) as early as possible in the semester. You must have documentation from the Academic Support Services office before accommodations can be granted. University policy states that you must notify your professor seven (7) days prior to the exams.

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