CS290N Extra-Performance Computer Architecture
Prof. Fred Chong
SQ 2006
Problem Set 5 (3D Chip Profiling -- Shashi Mysore)

1. Why is there a pressing need for on-chip hardware analysis modules and
what are the two implementation approaches that the paper discusses?

2. What are the three major advantages of 3D introspection?

3. Briefly, what is the significance of inter-buffer separation (l_opt) ?

4. In the example Analysis Engine described in the paper, what is the
functionality of a Decoder and Field Extractor unit (DFE)?

(This question is not addressed in the paper, and you may choose to answer
this based on your interest)
5. In general, systems profiling needs as many taps as possible to extract
information, where as system security needs to close any tap which may be
deemed "malicious". I'd like to know if you have any thoughts on how the
proposed 3D architecture might become vulnerable to malicious attacks.