CSE 443/543: High Performance Distributed Computing - Final Exam Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards designed to help review key terms and concepts related to High Performance Distributed Computing for the final exam.

CPI

Cycles Per Instruction, a measure of how many clock cycles a CPU takes to execute a single instruction.

Superscalar CPU

A type of CPU architecture that can execute more than one instruction in a single clock cycle.

SPMD

Single Program Multiple Data, a parallel programming model where multiple processors execute the same program on different pieces of data.

Pipeline

A technique where multiple instruction phases are overlapped to improve CPU throughput.

Cache

A small-sized type of volatile computer memory that provides high-speed data access to the processor and stores frequently used program instructions and data.

Concurrent Execution

The execution of multiple tasks simultaneously, often achieved through parallel processing.

Vectorization

The process of converting an algorithm or program to make effective use of a vector processor by utilizing vector instructions.

Latency

The time delay from the input into a system to the desired outcome.

MPI

Message Passing Interface, a standardized means of communication used in parallel programming for distributed computing.

Interconnect Topology

The physical arrangement of connections between various nodes in a network, influencing performance characteristics.

Data Locality

The tendency of a program to access a relatively small set of memory locations repeatedly.

Efficiency (in parallel computing)

A measure of how well the computing resources are being utilized, often expressed as a percentage of maximum possible performance.

Blocking I/O

An input/output operation that causes the program to wait until the operation is complete before continuing.

Non-blocking I/O

An I/O operation that allows the program to continue executing other tasks while waiting for the I/O operation to complete.

Bisection Width

A measure in network topology that indicates the minimum number of edges that need to be removed to separate the network into two disjoint parts.

Segmented Broadcast

A method of broadcasting where the data is divided into segments for efficient distribution to multiple recipients.