THE ERA OF THREAD-LEVEL PARALLELISM

PROF. KUNLE OLUKOTUN (Stanford University)Abstract:=========As single-thread performance approaches ILP limits and fundamental VLSI constraints, parallel architectures that exploit thread-level parallelism provide a realistic path to improved performance. However, the perennial problem with parallel architectures is the lack of parallel software to run on them. This talk discusses three techniques for generating and exploiting thread-level parallelism. The first technique exploits the inherent thread-level parallelism of server applications to improve throughput performance. The second technique uses thread-level speculation hardware and a Java VM that supports dynamic compilation and dynamic profiling to automatically extract threads from sequential applications. The third technique called Transactional Coherence and Consistency (TCC) is a new parallel programming model that relies on user-defined, light-weight transactions as the basic unit of parallel work, communication, memory coherence, memory consistency, and error recovery. TCC has the potential to simplify parallel software development and parallel hardware implementation. The combination of these three techniques could dramatically increase the amount of parallel software.Bio:====Kunle Olukotun is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University. Olukotun received his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering in 1991 from The University of Michigan. Olukotun led the Stanford Hydra single-chip multiprocessor research project. Hydra implements a novel architecture for combining multiple processors on a single chip. One of the most innovative aspects of the Hydra architecture is the support for thread-level speculation. In 2000 he founded Afara Websystems to develop commercial server systems with chip multiprocessor and multithreading technology. Afara was acquired in 2002 by Sun Microsystems; the Afara processor technology, now called Niagara, will appear in future Sun products. Olukotun currently leads projects in computer architecture, parallel programming environments and formal hardware verification.Host: Prof. Timothy Pinkston, x04482Refreshments to precede seminar at 10:15AM

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - -248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Rosine Sarafian