Computer Architecture: Challenges and Opportunities for the Next Decade

Computer architecture forms the bridge between application needs and the capabilities of the underlying technologies. As application demands change and technologies cross various thresholds, computer architects must continue innovating to produce systems that can deliver needed performance and cost effectiveness. Our challenge as computer architects is to deliver end-to-end performance growth at historical levels in the presence of technology discontinuities. We can address this challenge by focusing on power optimization at all levels. Key levers are the development of power-optimized building blocks, deployment of chip-level multiprocessors, increasing use of accelerators and offload engines, widespread use of scale-out systems, and system-level power optimization.