COMP35112 - Logistics

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# COMP35112 Chip Multiprocessors
<br/>

# .white[Logistics]

.footnote[.white[Pierre Olivier and Pavlos Petoumenos<br/> [pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk),
[pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk)]]

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# Instructors

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.center[
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="include/pierre.jpeg" width=200 /></div> 
**Pierre Olivier**

From 02/02 to 09/03
[pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk)
]]

.rightcol[
.center[
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="include/pavlos.jpeg" width=200 /></div> 
**Pavlos Petoumenos**

From 16/03 until the end in May
[pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk)
]]

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# A Typical Week

Blended approach: live sessions + asynchronous videos & exercises

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# Course Website

.center[**Everything centralised on Canvas**:

Schedule, synchronous/asynchronous materials, lab instructions, etc.

https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/40249
<div style="text-align:center"><img src="include/canvas-qr-code.png" width=200 /></div>

]

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# Assessment

Final grade divided into:
  - **30% coursework: summative lab exercises**
    - 3 lab exercises, each weighting 10% of final mark
  - **70% final exam**

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# Course Schedule

- A typical week:
  - **Live session** on Monday 2pm-3pm
      - In *Samuel Alexander Building Room A101* (Pierre) and *Room A112* (Pavlos)
  - **Asynchronous content** to do at home during the week: video(s), quiz(zes) (formative)
  - **Drop-in office hours** every Friday 1pm-2pm
      - In *IT 415 (Pierre's office)* or/and *IT 414 (Pavlos' office)*
- Lab weeks (weeks starting 16/02, 23/02, 09/03, 16/03, 23/04, 30/04):
  - **Lab session** on Thursday 10am-12pm in Kilburn Collab 1+2
- Check details of the schedule for each week on the   
  [Canvas schedule page](https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/40249#Schedule)

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# Asynchronous Content

- **Videos**
  - To watch during the week after the live session for Pierre's part
  - To watch before the live session for Pavlos' part
--

- **Videos are not optional**, cover fully examinable content not seen during live sessions
  - **Follow the schedule and watch videos on time**, otherwise you'll be lost in future sessions

--
- **Quizzes** (formative assessments)
  - **Do the quizzes on time**, they validate/strenghten your knowledge better when it's fresh

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Videos/Quizzes all available on Canvas, check the [schedule](https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/40249#Schedule) to know what to do each week

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# Lab Assignments

- To be done during lab sessions, finish at home if needed
--

- 3 exercises, subjects are/will be published on Blackboard
  1. **Delivering speedup for vector addition**
      - Deadline 27/02/26 6pm
  2. **Synchronisation: the dining philosophers problem**
      - Deadline 20/03/26 6pm
  3. **Relaxation** (to solve Poisson’s equation)
      - Deadline 01/05/26 6pm
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- Submission method: on GitLab https://gitlab.cs.man.ac.uk/
  - 1 repository per project, use a specific tag on the master branch to indicate submission
      - **Repo will be created for you**, don't fork anything
      - **Make sure to push to the right repo + tag properly**
  - Further details in lab briefs

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# Required Software

- To complete lab assignments, **need a Linux distribution with a recent GCC/G++ (~v11-13, i.e. what comes with Ubuntu 22/24.04)**
  - **Department's machines**
  - **Your own machine**
      - If you run Linux in a virtual machine, make sure to [give it several cores](https://askubuntu.com/questions/365615/how-do-i-enable-multiple-cores-in-my-virtual-enviroment))
      - Ubuntu 24.04 Docker container
      - You can also run Linux natively if you know what you are doing
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- You'll get access to a **high-core count machine** (72 cores/144 hyperthreads) to test
  your programs at scale: **mcore72**
  - Works with a job queue system to avoid multi-tenant disturbances
     - Connection and usage instructions with the lab briefs
         - **Need to be on campus to connect to mcore72**

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# Reading List

- Highly Recommended: **Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach**,
  *J.L. Hennessy and D.A. Patterson*, 4th Edition, Morgan Kaufman, 2007.
  In particular chapters 1 and 4.
- Others: on Canvas click on [*Reading List*](https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/40249/external_tools/182) on the left menu
  - Some/most of this material goes beyond what we cover in the lectures

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# Discussion Board

- On Canvas click on [*Discussions*](https://canvas.manchester.ac.uk/courses/40249/discussion_topics) on the left menu and select **COMP35112 Forum**
  - Feel free to create new threads to ask us **anything** about the unit
      - Don't post answers there!

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# Drop-in Office Hour Sessions

- 1 on 1 meetings with the current instructor
- Optional, come if you have questions about **anything** related to the course
- Every Friday 1pm
  - Pierre's office: IT 415 (06/02 to 20/03)
  - Pavlos' office: IT 414 (20/03 to 01/05)
  
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# Attending Live & Lab Sessions

- **Benefits of physically attending the live sessions:**
  - Make the effort to come to the session, 1 hour timetabled and dedicated to studying/focusing on the materials with no distractions
  - Ask questions and interact with the instructor
  - Participate in the interactive activities
  - All these things let your brain focus on the materials, knowledge will come back much more easily when revising -> **higher mark**
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- **Benefits of physically attending the lab sessions:**
  - Time scheduled for you to complete the summative exercises
  - Ask questions/interact with a TA and the instructor, *we are here to help* -> **higher mark**
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- **General benefit of physical presence:**
  - We see your face and remember your engagement

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# AI / LLMs / ChatGPT & Co.

- **These tools should not be used to complete the summative lab exercises**
  - We understand they are important and very useful to programmers
  - But here at the University they prevent you from **learning**

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# How to get help?

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# How to Get Help

- Any questions/concerns? By increasing order of urgency:
  - Step 1: Raise your hand during the lecture
      - We enjoy questions!
  - Step 2: Come to the next office hour
  - Step 3: Discussion boards
  - Step 4 (only if urgent!) contact the instructors:
      - [pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pierre.olivier@manchester.ac.uk),
      - [pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk](mailto:pavlos.petoumenos@manchester.ac.uk)