My MSci project was on DVFS, energy savings, and scheduling in Assymetric Multicore Processors (AMPs), and was done using the gem5 simulator. The project was done full-time in one semester of the, without any other courses going on at the same time. CS5199 is a special Individual Masters Project for students doing an Integrated Masters (MSci) degree.
Fri, 22 May 2020
Second practical done as part of CS4203 “Computer Security”, which I took during my 5th year. The aims of this practical were to 1) use passive pen-testing tools to investigate two websites, and 2) to conduct an “alpha (self-tested)” study into using keystroke timings as a potential biometric authentication factor. We were informed that part of the exercise was also to approach the study in an academic manner, i.e. including relevant citations, acknowledging shortcomings and limitations, and suggesting improvements and/or further work.
Mon, 18 Nov 2019
First practical done as part of CS4203 “Computer Security”, which I took during my 5th year. The aim of the practical was to write a report describing what blockchain is and how it works, along with 2 separate areas of research or commercial interest. The description of the separate areas had to discuss functionality, current and potential applications, and security concerns or problems.
Fri, 11 Oct 2019
My SH project was done in Idris 1 and involved parts of the TeamPlay project. The Senior Honours Project is a project usually done at the end of a BSc degree. However, it used to also be possible to do it as part of an MSci degree, allowing students to have experience before doing the MSci project or to potentially finish a year early with a BSc instead. The project is done continuously over both semesters, along with other coursework.
Fri, 12 Apr 2019
Third practical done as part of CS4202 “Computer Architecture”, which I took in my SH/4th year. The aim of the practical was to explore a computer architecture paper on a topic of interest, either old or cutting-edge, and prepare a presentation on it. I chose to explore Simultaneous Multi-Threading (aka. “Hyperthreading” on Intel CPUs).
Fri, 30 Nov 2018
Second practical done as part of CS4202 “Computer Architecture”, which I took in my SH/4th year. The aim of this practical was to gain experience with computer architecture concepts by exploring compiler optimisations, to be able to reason about the effect of compiler optimisations on certain program fragments, and to develop and use a test-suite for conducting compiler optimisation tests.
Fri, 16 Nov 2018
First practical done as part of CS4202 “Computer Architecture”, which I took in my SH/4th year. The aim of this practical was to gain an understanding of different branch prediction strategies for particular programs, along with their importance, and to develop and demonstrate scientific experimentation and analysis techniques. This had to be done by writing a branch predictor simulator capable of simulating various different branch prediction strategies, calculating the misprediction rates, taking a program trace generated by Intel’s Pin tool.
Wed, 17 Oct 2018