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TKT-2431 SoC-suunnittelu
and TKT-2437 SoC design
exam Mon 31.1.2011
D. You may use any calculator
You may do whatever you wish to the exam paper

Please answer in Finnish if possible.

In addition to text, use eguations, figures, and tables. Moreover, give
examples in your answers.

Remember to highlight the differences between compared methods/things,
and tell when one should use each of them.

Don't expect that the reader is psychic, please explain things carefully.

What is the ”cache bypass” (as used in exercise work)? (1p) (
Explain the following (ä 2p)
a) Design Y-chart

b) Bursty traffic

o) Hardware-dependent software
d) Bisection bandwidth of a communication network
e) Wormhole switching
Explain the following (a 3p)
a) The main idea of an ASIP. Tell also when they are beneficial and give a rough i
estimate how much they improve things.
b) The concept of power state machine.

SoC is verified at various phases and levels. List them and describe which |
verification methods should be used on each. (4p)

The logic in a complex SoC is practically always divided into separate
domains (aka. islands or regions)

a) What are the 3 different Spec of such domains? Describe the purpose and main

idea of each. (Hint: Two of them are guite often combined in student answers
even if they a different, as discussed in guest lecture...) (3p)

b) Whatis reguired for the data that cross the domain boundaries ?(1p)
c) Power saving is the main motivation for domains. What other benefits do they
bring? (1p)

Rate yourself. In addition to schedule estimation, it is also important to
recognize one's own capabilities. Therefore, the last task is to estimate
how many points you'll get in guestions 1-5. Textual analysis is also
appreciated.(4p)