NDCA 2011 - NDCA-2: New Directions in Computer Architecture

The last few years have witnessed a dramatic shift of focus toward multi-core systems in both the microprocessor industry and the architecture research community. Due in large part to power and complexity limitations to single-core scaling, multi-core architectures have emerged as the primary mechanism to reap the benefits of Moore's Law in the billion-transistor era. However, the challenge of making parallelization an easy task for most programmers, combined with worsening power constraints, may jeopardize the notion of many-cores. Extreme process variations and the increasing number of transient and permanent faults will further complicate the design of traditional computing systems. And increasingly, the slowing of CMOS process scaling calls for alternative computing or technology paths. In addition to these design challenges, the shift towards data centers and mobile computing is likely to change the requirements for traditional architectures radically. The goal of the â?œNew Directions in Computer Architectureâ?? workshop is to bring together top researchers in the community for presentations and discussions about what the future of the technology is likely to hold, and in what new areas the research community should be investing.