Applications of Parallel Computing in DS 642 Lecture 2 Quiz

Which of the following is NOT one of Phil Colella's 7 'dwarfs' of scientific computing?

Particle Methods
Dense Linear Algebra
Monte Carlo
Finite State Machines (correct)

Which computational method is commonly associated with spectral operations like FFT according to the text?

Backtrack/B&B
MapReduce
Spectral (FFT) (correct)
Dynamic Programming

What did Phil Colella's DARPA presentation in 2004 focus on?

Developing New Parallel Processing Architectures
Investigating Artificial Intelligence Algorithms
Exploring Quantum Computing Applications
Defining Software Requirements for Scientific Computing (correct)

Which of the following is a commonly used method for processing structured data grids in parallel computing?

Structured Grids (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is one of the 'dwarfs' of scientific computing that focuses on large-scale simulations involving random sampling?

Particle Methods (C) Signup and view all the answers

In which category do Dense Linear Algebra and Sparse Linear Algebra fall under as per the provided text?

HPC (D) Signup and view all the answers

Why is scaling clock speed not a viable solution to increase processor power according to the text?

It does not address the issue of increased power density. (B) Signup and view all the answers

How does parallelism help improve chip yield according to the text?

By reducing the complexity of fabrication. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main implication of Dennard Scaling being dead, as mentioned in the text?

Processor power will no longer increase with each generation. (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements best summarizes the impact of Dennard Scaling and Moore’s Law on processor development?

Dennard Scaling has failed, leading to doubts about the future of processor advancement. (B) Signup and view all the answers

How does increasing transistor count affect processor performance according to the text?

It does not necessarily lead to faster serial processors. (A) Signup and view all the answers

According to Gordon Moore's prediction in 1965, what did he forecast would double roughly every 18 months?

The transistor density of semiconductor chips (C) Signup and view all the answers

What impact does the shrinkage of the feature size (transistor size) have on the clock rate of microprocessors?

The clock rate goes up by less than a factor of x (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the historical impact on the raw computing power of a chip when the feature size (transistor size) shrinks by a factor x?

The computing power increases by a factor of x^4 (B) Signup and view all the answers

What trend has been observed with microprocessor transistors over time according to the text?

Transistor density has doubled every 18 months (A) Signup and view all the answers

How has Moore's Law impacted the size of microprocessors over time?

Die size has increased concurrently with feature size shrinkage (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is one reason why clock rate does not go up by exactly the same factor as the shrinkage in feature size according to the text?

Because power consumption does not scale linearly with feature shrinkage (B) Signup and view all the answers

In the context of pipelining, what does the term 'latency' refer to?

The time taken to wash, dry, and fold laundry (C) Signup and view all the answers

How does pipelined execution impact the total time taken for processing in the laundry example provided?

Decreases the total processing time by 42.5% (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main benefit of Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) within single processors?

Improving single-threaded performance (B) Signup and view all the answers

What factor determines the bandwidth in the laundry example when considering pipelined execution?

Number of loads of laundry (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of processor design does Flynn's Taxonomy categorize?

Parallelism (B) Signup and view all the answers

Why is SIMD (Single Instruction, Multiple Data) important in parallel computing?

To handle multiple data elements simultaneously (C) Signup and view all the answers

In the context of pipelining, what does the term 'Bandwidth' refer to?

The number of loads per hour without pipelining (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between the total time taken for sequential execution and pipelined execution in Dave Patterson's Laundry example?

Pipelined execution takes less time (A) Signup and view all the answers

How does Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) differ from SIMD units in terms of enhancing processor performance?

ILP focuses on optimizing within a single instruction, while SIMD processes multiple instructions concurrently (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of Memory Hierarchies in parallel computing?

To reduce latency by storing frequently accessed data closer to the processor (C) Signup and view all the answers

What impact does increasing the number of loads have on the Bandwidth in Dave Patterson's Laundry example?

Increases bandwidth proportionally (A) Signup and view all the answers

How does Special Instructions like FMA contribute to optimizing Matrix Multiplication?

By reducing the number of instructions needed to perform matrix operations (D) Signup and view all the answers

In Dave Patterson's Laundry example, how does the total time required for pipelined execution compare to sequential execution?

Pipelined execution takes less time than sequential execution (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the impact of pipelining on the bandwidth in the laundry example?

Bandwidth increases with pipelining (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main implication of Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) within single processors?

ILP enhances processor performance by executing multiple instructions simultaneously (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of parallel computing does SIMD units primarily focus on?

Executing multiple operations in parallel on different data elements (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main reason why scaling clock speed is not a viable solution to increase processor power according to the text?

It results in diminishing returns in performance improvement (B) Signup and view all the answers

How does Special Instructions like FMA contribute to optimizing Matrix Multiplication?

FMA decreases the number of instructions needed for matrix multiplication (D) Signup and view all the answers

Match the following with their corresponding terms in the context of pipelining:

Latency in laundry example = Time required for wash + dry + fold Sequential execution time = 4 * 90 minutes Pipelined execution time = 30 + 4*40 + 20 minutes Bandwidth without pipelining = 4/3.5 loads/hour Signup and view all the answers

Match the following with their correct descriptions related to processor performance optimization:

Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) = Enhancing performance within single processors SIMD units = Focus on parallelism in processing multiple data elements Special Instructions like FMA = Contributing to Matrix Multiplication optimization Clock rate scaling = Not a viable solution to increase processor power Signup and view all the answers

Match the terms with their impacts on laundry processing in Dave Patterson's example:

Sequential execution time = 6 hours Pipelined execution time = 3.5 hours Bandwidth calculation w/o pipelining = 4/6 loads/hour Impact of increasing loads on Bandwidth = Decrease from 4/6 to 4/3.5 loads/hour Signup and view all the answers

Match the computational methods with their associated tasks:

Spectral operations like FFT = Commonly associated with FFT computations Structured data grids processing = Method for processing structured data grids in parallel computing Dense Linear Algebra = 'Dwarfs' of scientific computing involving large-scale simulations Sparse Linear Algebra = Falling under the category of Dense Linear Algebra as per text Signup and view all the answers

Match the processor design aspects with their corresponding categorizations:

Memory Hierarchies = Role in parallel computing design Flynn's Taxonomy = Categorizing processor design aspects SIMD units focus = Primary focus on parallelism in data processing Parallelism impact on chip yield = Improving chip yield according to text Signup and view all the answers

Match the processor technology impacts with their corresponding historical trends:

Dennard Scaling and Moore’s Law impact = On processor development summarized in text Feature size shrinkage impact on clock rate = Decrease in clock rate due to feature size shrinkage Moore's Law impact on microprocessor size over time = Increasing the number of transistors over time Raw computing power impact of feature size shrinkage by x factor = Historical impact on chip's raw computing power Signup and view all the answers

Explain the concept of Instruction Level Parallelism (ILP) and its significance in enhancing processor performance.

ILP is the ability to execute multiple instructions in parallel within a single processor, improving performance by overlapping various tasks and reducing idle time. Signup and view all the answers

Describe the role of SIMD units in parallel computing and provide an example of their application.

SIMD units focus on processing multiple data elements using a single instruction to achieve parallelism. An example is performing pixel operations in image processing. Signup and view all the answers

What is the impact of Special Instructions like FMA (Fused Multiply-Add) on optimizing Matrix Multiplication?

Special Instructions like FMA help improve the performance of matrix multiplication by combining the multiply and add operations into a single step, reducing the number of cycles needed. Signup and view all the answers

Explain the significance of Memory Hierarchies in parallel computing and how they contribute to overall system performance.

Memory hierarchies optimize data access by providing different levels of memory with varying speeds and sizes, allowing for faster data retrieval and improving overall system performance. Signup and view all the answers

Discuss the impact of Moore's Law on the size and performance of microprocessors over time.

Moore's Law states that the number of transistors on a chip doubles approximately every 18-24 months, leading to smaller, more powerful microprocessors with increased computational capabilities. Signup and view all the answers

How does increasing the number of loads in Dave Patterson's Laundry example affect the Bandwidth and overall processing efficiency?

Increasing the number of loads in the Laundry example reduces the Bandwidth, leading to lower processing efficiency due to the sequential nature of the tasks with limited parallelism. Signup and view all the answers