Advanced Computer Architecture Unit 3 Review: Techniques & Hazards

Pipelining Basics Recap

• Pipelining improves processor performance by overlapping the execution of multiple instructions
• Divides instruction execution into stages (fetch, decode, execute, memory access, write back)
• Each stage operates concurrently on different instructions
• Enables higher clock frequencies and increased throughput
• Requires careful management of dependencies and hazards to ensure correct execution
  • Data dependencies occur when an instruction relies on the result of a previous instruction
  • Control dependencies arise from branch instructions that alter the program flow

Advanced Pipeline Stages

• Superpipelining increases the number of pipeline stages to achieve higher clock frequencies
• Superpipelined processors (Intel Pentium 4) have deeper pipelines with more stages
• Splitting complex stages (execute) into multiple substages allows for shorter clock cycles
• Additional stages may include address generation, register read/write, and branch resolution
• Introduces more opportunities for hazards and requires advanced techniques to mitigate them
  • Forwarding paths become longer and more complex
  • Branch prediction accuracy becomes critical to avoid pipeline stalls
• Careful balancing of stage latencies is necessary to prevent performance bottlenecks

Instruction-Level Parallelism

• ILP refers to the ability to execute multiple independent instructions simultaneously
• Pipelining exploits ILP by overlapping the execution of instructions
• Out-of-order execution allows instructions to be executed in a different order than the program sequence
  • Requires hardware to track dependencies and reorder instructions
  • Enables better utilization of pipeline resources and higher ILP
• Superscalar architectures issue multiple instructions per clock cycle to multiple execution units
• Very Long Instruction Word (VLIW) architectures bundle multiple operations into a single instruction
• ILP is limited by data dependencies, control dependencies, and resource constraints

Data Hazards and Forwarding

• Data hazards occur when an instruction depends on the result of a previous instruction still in the pipeline
• Read After Write (RAW) hazards are the most common type of data hazard
• Forwarding (bypassing) is a technique used to mitigate RAW hazards
  • Forwards the result of an instruction directly to the dependent instruction, bypassing pipeline stages
  • Requires additional forwarding paths and control logic
• Load-use hazards occur when an instruction uses the result of a load immediately after it
  • Difficult to forward due to the delay in memory access
  • Can be mitigated using delayed load or load forwarding techniques
• Compiler optimization techniques (instruction scheduling) can help reduce data hazards

Control Hazards and Branch Prediction

• Control hazards occur due to branch instructions that alter the program flow
• Pipeline stalls occur when a branch is resolved, and the fetched instructions are discarded
• Branch prediction techniques are used to mitigate control hazards
  • Static branch prediction uses heuristics (backward taken, forward not taken) to predict branch outcomes
  • Dynamic branch prediction uses runtime information to make more accurate predictions
    • Branch history tables (BHTs) store the history of branch outcomes
    • Two-level adaptive predictors (local and global history) improve prediction accuracy
• Branch delay slots allow useful instructions to be executed while a branch is being resolved
• Speculative execution fetches and executes instructions based on predicted branch outcomes
  • Requires mechanisms to discard speculative results if the prediction is incorrect

Pipeline Stalls and Bubbles

• Pipeline stalls occur when an instruction cannot proceed to the next stage due to a hazard or resource conflict
• Stalls introduce bubbles (empty stages) in the pipeline, reducing performance
• Data hazards can cause stalls if the required data is not available in time
  • Forwarding and bypassing techniques help reduce data hazard stalls
• Control hazards lead to stalls when a branch is mispredicted, and the pipeline needs to be flushed
  • Accurate branch prediction minimizes control hazard stalls
• Structural hazards arise when multiple instructions compete for the same hardware resource
  • Sufficient hardware replication (multiple execution units) can alleviate structural hazards
• Out-of-order execution and dynamic scheduling help reduce stalls by allowing independent instructions to proceed

Performance Optimization Techniques

• Instruction prefetching fetches instructions ahead of time to reduce cache misses and pipeline stalls
• Branch prediction and speculative execution optimize the handling of control hazards
• Out-of-order execution and dynamic scheduling maximize resource utilization and minimize stalls
• Register renaming eliminates false dependencies (WAR and WAW hazards) by using a larger set of physical registers
• Superscalar and VLIW architectures exploit ILP by issuing multiple instructions per cycle
• Compiler optimizations (loop unrolling, software pipelining) help expose more ILP and reduce hazards
• Cache optimization techniques (prefetching, cache hierarchies) reduce memory access latencies
• Multithreading allows multiple threads to share pipeline resources, hiding latencies and improving throughput

Real-world Pipeline Implementations

• Intel Core microarchitecture (Skylake) uses a 14-19 stage pipeline with advanced features
  • Out-of-order execution, branch prediction, and speculative execution
  • Supports hyper-threading (simultaneous multithreading) for improved throughput
• ARM Cortex-A series processors employ deep pipelines and advanced hazard mitigation techniques
  • Cortex-A77 has a 13-stage pipeline with out-of-order execution and speculation
• IBM Power processors (Power9) feature a deep pipeline and aggressive optimization techniques
  • Out-of-order execution, branch prediction, and simultaneous multithreading
• AMD Zen microarchitecture (Ryzen) utilizes a high-performance pipeline with advanced features
  • Perceptron-based branch prediction, micro-op cache, and large instruction windows
• RISC-V architectures implement various pipeline designs based on the implementation
  • Range from simple in-order pipelines to advanced out-of-order designs with speculation