Computer Organization and Architecture - Chapter 2

The ability of a processor to issue more than one instruction in every clock cycle, thus increasing processing speed.

The processor performs actions on data or instructions in a continuous flow, with different stages happening concurrently.

A modern processor feature that predicts the next instruction or branch to execute, prefetching them to speed up processing.

Microprocessor speeds are increasing at a rapid rate while hardware costs are decreasing.

Applications requiring significant processing power like image processing, 3D rendering, and multimedia are becoming increasingly common.

Large server farms handle massive data processing, transactions, and client-server networks, replacing the traditional mainframe setups.

Cloud service providers utilize vast server infrastructures to cater to high-demand applications across a diverse range of clients.

The advancement of cloud computing and high-performance server farms has shifted the computing landscape from centralized mainframes to distributed, powerful networks.

A technique where a processor executes multiple instructions simultaneously, utilizing multiple execution units to boost performance.

The analysis of how data flows through a program to identify dependencies and optimize execution order. This is crucial for effective pipelining and superscalar execution.

A speculative approach where a processor executes instructions before it's confirmed they will be needed. If the prediction is correct, execution continues uninterrupted. If not, the speculative results are discarded.

The arithmetic mean is calculated by summing all values in a dataset and dividing by the number of values. It represents the average value of the dataset.

The harmonic mean is calculated by taking the reciprocal of the average of the reciprocals of all values in a dataset. It emphasizes values that are smaller than the average.

The harmonic mean is used to average rates when the total work is constant. For example, calculating the average speed over a fixed distance when traveling at different speeds.

When calculating the average rate of a process, the arithmetic mean is used when the total time is constant, like in the case of averaging speeds over a fixed time interval.

The geometric mean is a type of mean that is used when the values in a dataset are multiplicative, not additive. It's found by multiplying all values in the dataset and taking the nth root, where n is the number of values.

The geometric mean is used to calculate average rates, like for growth rates or returns on investment, when the change in value is not linear but multiplicative.

The harmonic mean is typically used when the values are rates, such as speeds, while the geometric mean is used when dealing with values that are multiplicative, like growth rates.

The arithmetic mean is a simple average while the harmonic mean is used specifically for rates and the geometric mean handles multiplicative values.

Measures how many instructions per second a processor can execute, indicating its processing power.

The time taken for a processor to execute a set of instructions. It reflects the processor's efficiency in getting the job done.

A reference point or standard for measuring processor performance. It provides a baseline for comparing processors.

Used to test and evaluate the performance of processors across different workloads and application scenarios. Helps understand how processors perform in real-world scenarios.

A category of processor tests focusing on tasks that involve manipulating integers, which are whole numbers. This is important for applications that require fast and efficient manipulation of numbers.

A prominent example of a server designed for high-performance computing, especially for data-intensive tasks.

A set of performance results obtained from running benchmarks on a processor. It indicates how many copies of a workload could be run on the processor in a specified time.

A type of multi-core processor that aims to offer high performance by distributing tasks across multiple cores efficiently.

A unit of measurement for the size of a program's source code, calculated by counting the number of lines of code in the source code files (including whitespace, comments, and empty lines) after build and dividing by 1,000.

A class of benchmark programs that measure the performance of computer systems in a specific area. In this context, it refers to measuring performance in the context of computer systems' usage.

A numerical value used to indicate how quickly a program executes. It is a representation of a program's performance.

The programming language used to write the source code of a particular program. This might include languages like C++, Fortran, or C.

A large collection of servers interconnected to form a distributed computing infrastructure. Think of it as a massive computer system designed to handle heavy workloads

A computer system used to measure the performance of other computer systems, acting as a baseline for comparison.

A test that aims to optimize the performance of a computer system by optimizing the compiler output.

A measurement of how many tasks a computer can complete within a specific time period, indicating the system's throughput, capacity, or rate.

A measurement of the time it takes to execute a compiled benchmark, reflecting the system's speed in performing a single task.