Course syllabus adopted 2022-01-28 by Head of Programme (or corresponding).
Overview
- Swedish nameHållbar databehandling
- CodeDAT278
- Credits7.5 Credits
- OwnerMPHPC
- Education cycleSecond-cycle
- Main field of studyComputer Science and Engineering, Software Engineering
- DepartmentCOMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
- GradingTH - Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail
Course round 1
- Teaching language English
- Application code 86112
- Maximum participants75
- Block schedule
- Open for exchange studentsYes
Credit distribution
Module | Sp1 | Sp2 | Sp3 | Sp4 | Summer | Not Sp | Examination dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0119 Laboratory 1.5 c Grading: UG | 1.5 c | ||||||
| 0219 Examination 6 c Grading: TH | 6 c |
|
In programmes
- MPALG - COMPUTER SCIENCE - ALGORITHMS, LANGUAGES AND LOGIC, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (elective)
- MPALG - COMPUTER SCIENCE - ALGORITHMS, LANGUAGES AND LOGIC, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
- MPCSN - COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory elective)
- MPCSN - COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
- MPHPC - HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, MSC PROGR, Year 1 (compulsory)
- MPHPC - HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, MSC PROGR, Year 2 (elective)
Examiner
Pedro Petersen Moura Trancoso- Full Professor, Computer and Network Systems, Computer Science and Engineering
Eligibility
General entry requirements for Master's level (second cycle)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Specific entry requirements
English 6 (or by other approved means with the equivalent proficiency level)Applicants enrolled in a programme at Chalmers where the course is included in the study programme are exempted from fulfilling the requirements above.
Course specific prerequisites
Computer Architecture (DAT105).Aim
The aim of the course is to make students aware of the importance of sustainability in computing and to show techniques to achieve it at the different levels of a computer system.Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
Knowledge and understanding:- describe the key aspects in sustainable computing and how computer systems can be used to improve sustainability
- describe techniques used in large data-centers to improve efficiency and sustainability
- describe the electrical mechanisms that cause power to be dissipated
- describe circuit techniques for reducing power dissipation and the impact on performance
- describe computer architecture, memory, and secondary storage techniques for reducing energy consumption
- describe techniques at the operating system, runtime, and application for reducing energy consumption
- explain what affects the energy consumption of computer systems especially concerning their architecture
Competence and skills:
- use specific devices to directly measure energy consumption of the whole system
- use performance counters to measure the energy consumption of certain components in the system
- use simulation tools to estimate the energy consumption of different system configurations
Judgement and approach:
- identify key trends in research and industry that lead to more efficient and sustainable systems
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of different classes of computer system components (e.g. processor, memory), with respect to energy efficiency
- evaluate and compare different architecture and system techniques in terms of the energy efficiency
- explain the methods for evaluating and reporting the energy consumption in computer systems and how these can be used to optimize the system
- judge the importance of energy consumption from societal and ethical perspectives
- interpret requirements on the architecture of computer systems to meet societal needs for sustainability
Content
The course is intended to give an overview of the energy efficiency aspects of computer systems and computing, ranging from the electronic circuits up to the applications for systems ranging from small IoT devices to large data centers. For instance, students will learn about approaches to measuring and estimating the energy consumption of different architectural components as well as architecture and software techniques to save energy in the system.Organisation
The course consists of lectures, reading assignments and group discussion sessions, as well as laboratory assignments. In the group discussion sessions, student groups discuss their readings and present their view of the work to the class, This is followed by a critical discussion of the technology focusing on both energy efficiency and sustainability. With the laboratory assignments the students explore the theoretical concepts from the lectures through experiments on real hardware.Literature
- Stefanos Kaxiras and Margaret Martonosi. 2008. Computer Architecture Techniques for Power-Efficiency (1st ed.). Morgan and Claypool Publishers.
- Magnus Själander, Margaret Martonosi, Stefanos Kaxiras. 2014. Power-efficient Computer Architectures: Recent Advances. Morgan and Claypool Publishers.
- Articles from the research literature and trade magazines.
Examination including compulsory elements
The course is examined by an individual written exam done in an examination hall and approved lab exercises. The lab work is done in groups of normally 2-3 students.Grades
The final grade is based on the results on the written exam.
The course examiner may assess individual students in other ways than what is stated above if there are special reasons for doing so, for example if a student has a decision from Chalmers on educational support due to disability.