CAB401 High Performance and Parallel Computing
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | CAB401 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | IFN584 or IFQ584 or (IFN563 and IFN564) or (IFQ563 and IFQ564) or CAB301 |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
|
| CSP student contribution | $1,192 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,704 |
| International unit fee | $5,640 |
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Gardens Point, Internal
| Unit code: | CAB401 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | IFN584 or IFQ584 or (IFN563 and IFN564) or (IFQ563 and IFQ564) or CAB301 |
| Coordinator: | Wayne Kelly | w.kelly@qut.edu.au |
Overview
Building on your skills in "sequential" programming, this unit teaches you the tools and techniques needed to exploit multi-processor computer systems to achieve dramatic performance improvements for computationally intensive problems. This unit gives you both an understanding of why future computer hardware will be increasingly parallel, the challenges this poses for software development as well as a set of practical skills in creating high-performance programs using today's best tools and techniques.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Relate principles of parallel programming to features of parallel hardware.
- Transform sequential software applications into high performance parallel applications using state of the art programming techniques.
- Conduct independent research on a parallel programming framework and evaluate it against alternative frameworks.
- Deliver an effective, professional presentation to a specialist audience.
- Analyse how Moore's Law and parallel computing provide the foundational support for enabling modern AI.
- Reflect on the ethical dilemmas arising from Moore's Law in relation to sustainability and the social ramifications as we approach the technological singularity, drawing inspiration from Aboriginal and Torres strait islanders perspectives.
Content
The major topics covered may be drawn from the following:
- Principles for dealing with computationally-intensive or 'big data' problems efficiently;
- Moore's law and the trend towards parallel hardware;
- High-speed computing frameworks;
- Practical techniques for parallelizing algorithms;
- Forms of parallelism (including instruction, data, task and pipelining);
- Barriers to effective exploitation of parallel computing architectures (including grain size, load imbalance and memory bottlenecks);
- Static and dynamic techniques and tools for program analysis;
- Principles of parallel computing (including Amdahl's law);
- Principles of parallel programming (including synchronization and locks);
- Problems associated with parallel programming (including race conditions and deadlocks);
- Forms of synchronization (including critical sections, semaphores, mutexes and barriers); and
- Design of parallel algorithms.
- Big data analytics
- Connection between HPC parallel computing and Cloud Computing.
- Parallel computing used for Machine Learning, including modern Large Language models for Generative AI.
The unit also includes:
Industry-relevant digital practices and technologies: The unit includes Understanding the architecture and operation of HPC systems, including supercomputers and clusters. Learning about different parallel programming models such as MPI (Message Passing Interface), OpenMP (Open Multi-Processing), and CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) for GPU programming. Utilizing cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure for scalable and flexible parallel computing resources. Implementing parallel computing techniques in big data frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark to process large datasets efficiently. Leveraging parallel computing to accelerate AI and ML algorithms, which require significant computational power.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives: We draw on indigenous perspectives, including connection to country and the notion of elders, to provide inspiration for modern dilemmas arising from exponential growth and the lack of effective governance structures.
Sustainability: Moore's Law leads to perpetual exponential growth. Our capitalist business model is also premised on perpetual exponential growth. In this unit, we consider the sustainability of exponential growth in a world with finite resources.
Learning Approaches
This unit offers you the flexibility to study either on-campus or online. Our approach focuses on active, hands-on learning. Each week, you'll watch pre-recorded videos that break down the core theories of parallel computing. These are paired with interactive, face-to-face flipped classroom style lectures where you can ask questions, see demos, and connect the theory to your semester-long parallelisation project, which is the core learning activity of this unit.
In this project, you'll tackle the challenge of parallelizing a non-trivial sequential program to achieve the best possible speedup. You'll navigate the complexities of identifying which parts of the application can be safely parallelized, considering factors like load balance, overheads, communication bottlenecks, and non-uniform memory access. This project is where you'll apply all the concepts and theories you've learned to a real, large-scale, complex task.
From week 5 onwards, you'll also research and present on various parallel computing languages, frameworks, or environments. These presentations, which make up about half of our two-hour practical/tutorial classes each week, are a great opportunity to share your insights and engage in Q&A and discussions led by your tutor. This will help you see how the concepts from the lectures come to life in both your project and the specific parallel computing contexts you explore.
You can expect to spend between 10 - 15 hours per week involved in preparing for and attending all scheduled workshops, completing assessment tasks, and undertaking your own independent study to consolidate your learning.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- Ongoing formative feedback will be provided by your tutor during the lectures and practicals.
- Automated feedback is available on the completion of formative online quizzes.
- Summative assessment tasks will be graded using rubrics, which will provide details of your achievement against the specified standards and also include written feedback on your performance.
Feedback on summative assessment tasks will be received prior to the submission of the next summative assessment task.
Assessment
Overview
General assessment information:
The major project provides a vehicle for you to apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired from the lectures and tutorial exercises. Time will be devoted during later practical sessions for you to discuss your progress on the project and get help and advice on any technical issues which may be encountered.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Presentation (Oral)
You will research one of a number of predefined topics related to parallel computing and present an oral presentation with the aid of slides and answer questions from the audience.
Talk to your tutor in advance if you are unable to attend the tutorial session at which you are scheduled to present.
Assessment: Project (applied)
You will select a real world software application and manually redevelop it using one of a number of parallel programming frameworks in order to create a 'high-performance' version. The comparative performance of both the original and new versions must be demonstrated both theoretically and empirically.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Timed Online Examination
This is an open book examination where you are free (and encouraged) to use any printed materials or resources you can find on the internet, as well as programming tools such as Visual studio.
There are no multiple choice questions. Answers to each question are typically one page in length. Given the open book nature of the exam, all questions require you to apply your understanding to specific contexts and examples. Questions include programming tasks and parallel computing analysis activities. Emphasis is on deep understanding by exploring why and how we do certain things with respect to high performance and parallel computing.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Various readings will be assigned during lectures, all from publically available web sites. Required software is either installed in on-campus computer labs and/or freely available. Students are not expected to purchase any software or other resources for this unit.
Risk Assessment Statement
There is minimal health and safety risk associated with this unit. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the Health and Safety policies and procedures applicable within campus areas and laboratories.
Standards/Competencies
This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.
Australian Computer Society Core Body of Knowledge
1: ICT Professional Knowledge
- Understanding the ICT profession
Relates to: ULO6
3: Technology Resources
- Hardware and software fundamentals
Relates to: ULO1
4: Technology Building
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer
1: Knowledge and Skill Base
Relates to: Timed Online Examination
Relates to: Project (applied)
2: Engineering Application Ability
Relates to: Project (applied), Timed Online Examination
Relates to: Project (applied)
3: Professional and Personal Attributes
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EN01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO6 - Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
Relates to: ULO4, Presentation (Oral) - Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
Relates to: ULO5 - Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
Relates to: ULO2, Project (applied) - Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO1, Timed Online Examination
EV01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
Relates to: Presentation (Oral) - Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: Presentation (Oral) - Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
Relates to: Project (applied) - Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
Relates to: Timed Online Examination
IN01 Bachelor of Information Technology
- Demonstrate a broad theoretical and technical knowledge of well-established and emerging IT disciplines, with in-depth knowledge in at least one specialist area aligned to multiple ICT professional roles.
Relates to: ULO1, Presentation (Oral), Project (applied), Timed Online Examination - Critically analyse and conceptualise complex IT challenges and opportunities using modelling, abstraction, ideation and problem-solving to generate, evaluate and justify recommended solutions.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Integrate and apply technical knowledge and skills to analyse, design, build, operate and maintain sustainable, secure IT systems using industry-standard tools, technologies, platforms, and processes.
Relates to: ULO2, Project (applied), Timed Online Examination - Demonstrate initiative, autonomy and personal responsibility for continuous learning, working both independently and collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams, employing state-of-the-art IT project management methodologies to plan and manage time, resources, and risk.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Communicate professionally and effectively in written, verbal and visual formats to a diverse range of stakeholders, considering the audience and explaining complex ideas in a simple and understandable manner in a range of IT-related contexts.
Relates to: ULO4, Presentation (Oral) - Assess the risks and potential of artificial intelligence (and other disruptive emerging technologies) within an organisation and leverage AI knowledge and skills to solve IT challenges, improve productivity and add value.
Relates to: ULO5, Timed Online Examination - Critically reflect, using a human-centric approach, on the social, cultural, ethical, privacy, legal, sustainability, and accessibility issues shaping the development and use of IT, including respecting the perspectives and knowledge systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring IT solutions empower and support people with disabilities, and fostering inclusive and equitable digital technologies that serve diverse communities.
Relates to: ULO6, Presentation (Oral), Timed Online Examination
Unit Outline: Semester 2 2026, Online
| Unit code: | CAB401 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | IFN584 or IFQ584 or (IFN563 and IFN564) or (IFQ563 and IFQ564) or CAB301 |
Overview
Building on your skills in "sequential" programming, this unit teaches you the tools and techniques needed to exploit multi-processor computer systems to achieve dramatic performance improvements for computationally intensive problems. This unit gives you both an understanding of why future computer hardware will be increasingly parallel, the challenges this poses for software development as well as a set of practical skills in creating high-performance programs using today's best tools and techniques.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Relate principles of parallel programming to features of parallel hardware.
- Transform sequential software applications into high performance parallel applications using state of the art programming techniques.
- Conduct independent research on a parallel programming framework and evaluate it against alternative frameworks.
- Deliver an effective, professional presentation to a specialist audience.
- Analyse how Moore's Law and parallel computing provide the foundational support for enabling modern AI.
- Reflect on the ethical dilemmas arising from Moore's Law in relation to sustainability and the social ramifications as we approach the technological singularity, drawing inspiration from Aboriginal and Torres strait islanders perspectives.
Content
The major topics covered may be drawn from the following:
- Principles for dealing with computationally-intensive or 'big data' problems efficiently;
- Moore's law and the trend towards parallel hardware;
- High-speed computing frameworks;
- Practical techniques for parallelizing algorithms;
- Forms of parallelism (including instruction, data, task and pipelining);
- Barriers to effective exploitation of parallel computing architectures (including grain size, load imbalance and memory bottlenecks);
- Static and dynamic techniques and tools for program analysis;
- Principles of parallel computing (including Amdahl's law);
- Principles of parallel programming (including synchronization and locks);
- Problems associated with parallel programming (including race conditions and deadlocks);
- Forms of synchronization (including critical sections, semaphores, mutexes and barriers); and
- Design of parallel algorithms.
- Big data analytics
- Connection between HPC parallel computing and Cloud Computing.
- Parallel computing used for Machine Learning, including modern Large Language models for Generative AI.
The unit also includes:
Industry-relevant digital practices and technologies: The unit includes Understanding the architecture and operation of HPC systems, including supercomputers and clusters. Learning about different parallel programming models such as MPI (Message Passing Interface), OpenMP (Open Multi-Processing), and CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) for GPU programming. Utilizing cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure for scalable and flexible parallel computing resources. Implementing parallel computing techniques in big data frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark to process large datasets efficiently. Leveraging parallel computing to accelerate AI and ML algorithms, which require significant computational power.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives: We draw on indigenous perspectives, including connection to country and the notion of elders, to provide inspiration for modern dilemmas arising from exponential growth and the lack of effective governance structures.
Sustainability: Moore's Law leads to perpetual exponential growth. Our capitalist business model is also premised on perpetual exponential growth. In this unit, we consider the sustainability of exponential growth in a world with finite resources.
Learning Approaches
This unit offers you the flexibility to study either on-campus or online. Our approach focuses on active, hands-on learning. Each week, you'll watch pre-recorded videos that break down the core theories of parallel computing. These are paired with interactive, face-to-face flipped classroom style lectures where you can ask questions, see demos, and connect the theory to your semester-long parallelisation project, which is the core learning activity of this unit.
In this project, you'll tackle the challenge of parallelizing a non-trivial sequential program to achieve the best possible speedup. You'll navigate the complexities of identifying which parts of the application can be safely parallelized, considering factors like load balance, overheads, communication bottlenecks, and non-uniform memory access. This project is where you'll apply all the concepts and theories you've learned to a real, large-scale, complex task.
From week 5 onwards, you'll also research and present on various parallel computing languages, frameworks, or environments. These presentations, which make up about half of our two-hour practical/tutorial classes each week, are a great opportunity to share your insights and engage in Q&A and discussions led by your tutor. This will help you see how the concepts from the lectures come to life in both your project and the specific parallel computing contexts you explore.
You can expect to spend between 10 - 15 hours per week involved in preparing for and attending all scheduled workshops, completing assessment tasks, and undertaking your own independent study to consolidate your learning.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
Feedback in this unit is provided to you in the following ways:
- Ongoing formative feedback will be provided by your tutor during the lectures and practicals.
- Automated feedback is available on the completion of formative online quizzes.
- Summative assessment tasks will be graded using rubrics, which will provide details of your achievement against the specified standards and also include written feedback on your performance.
Feedback on summative assessment tasks will be received prior to the submission of the next summative assessment task.
Assessment
Overview
General assessment information:
The major project provides a vehicle for you to apply the knowledge and skills that they have acquired from the lectures and tutorial exercises. Time will be devoted during later practical sessions for you to discuss your progress on the project and get help and advice on any technical issues which may be encountered.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Presentation (Oral)
You will research one of a number of predefined topics related to parallel computing and present an oral presentation with the aid of slides and answer questions from the audience.
Talk to your tutor in advance if you are unable to attend the tutorial session at which you are scheduled to present.
Assessment: Project (applied)
You will select a real world software application and manually redevelop it using one of a number of parallel programming frameworks in order to create a 'high-performance' version. The comparative performance of both the original and new versions must be demonstrated both theoretically and empirically.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
Assessment: Timed Online Examination
This is an open book examination where you are free (and encouraged) to use any printed materials or resources you can find on the internet, as well as programming tools such as Visual studio.
There are no multiple choice questions. Answers to each question are typically one page in length. Given the open book nature of the exam, all questions require you to apply your understanding to specific contexts and examples. Questions include programming tasks and parallel computing analysis activities. Emphasis is on deep understanding by exploring why and how we do certain things with respect to high performance and parallel computing.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Various readings will be assigned during lectures, all from publically available web sites. Required software is either installed in on-campus computer labs and/or freely available. Students are not expected to purchase any software or other resources for this unit.
Risk Assessment Statement
There is minimal health and safety risk associated with this unit. It is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with the Health and Safety policies and procedures applicable within campus areas and laboratories.
Standards/Competencies
This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.
Australian Computer Society Core Body of Knowledge
1: ICT Professional Knowledge
- Understanding the ICT profession
Relates to: ULO6
3: Technology Resources
- Hardware and software fundamentals
Relates to: ULO1
4: Technology Building
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineer
1: Knowledge and Skill Base
Relates to: Timed Online Examination
Relates to: Project (applied)
2: Engineering Application Ability
Relates to: Project (applied), Timed Online Examination
Relates to: Project (applied)
3: Professional and Personal Attributes
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Relates to: Presentation (Oral)
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.EN01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- Make decisions ethically within the social, cultural, and organisational contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO6 - Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
Relates to: ULO4, Presentation (Oral) - Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Manage projects to solve complex engineering problems, using appropriate information, engineering methods, and technologies.
Relates to: ULO5 - Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
Relates to: ULO2, Project (applied) - Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
Relates to: ULO1, Timed Online Examination
EV01 Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)
- Engage stakeholders professionally and communicate the outcomes of your work effectively to expert and non-expert audiences using appropriate modes.
Relates to: Presentation (Oral) - Display leadership, creativity, and initiative in both self-directed and collaborative contexts of professional engineering practice.
Relates to: Presentation (Oral) - Deploy appropriate approaches to engineering design and quality.
Relates to: Project (applied) - Demonstrate a thorough understanding of one engineering discipline, its research directions, and its application in contemporary professional engineering practice.
Relates to: Timed Online Examination
IN01 Bachelor of Information Technology
- Demonstrate a broad theoretical and technical knowledge of well-established and emerging IT disciplines, with in-depth knowledge in at least one specialist area aligned to multiple ICT professional roles.
Relates to: ULO1, Presentation (Oral), Project (applied), Timed Online Examination - Critically analyse and conceptualise complex IT challenges and opportunities using modelling, abstraction, ideation and problem-solving to generate, evaluate and justify recommended solutions.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Integrate and apply technical knowledge and skills to analyse, design, build, operate and maintain sustainable, secure IT systems using industry-standard tools, technologies, platforms, and processes.
Relates to: ULO2, Project (applied), Timed Online Examination - Demonstrate initiative, autonomy and personal responsibility for continuous learning, working both independently and collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams, employing state-of-the-art IT project management methodologies to plan and manage time, resources, and risk.
Relates to: ULO3, Presentation (Oral) - Communicate professionally and effectively in written, verbal and visual formats to a diverse range of stakeholders, considering the audience and explaining complex ideas in a simple and understandable manner in a range of IT-related contexts.
Relates to: ULO4, Presentation (Oral) - Assess the risks and potential of artificial intelligence (and other disruptive emerging technologies) within an organisation and leverage AI knowledge and skills to solve IT challenges, improve productivity and add value.
Relates to: ULO5, Timed Online Examination - Critically reflect, using a human-centric approach, on the social, cultural, ethical, privacy, legal, sustainability, and accessibility issues shaping the development and use of IT, including respecting the perspectives and knowledge systems of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, ensuring IT solutions empower and support people with disabilities, and fostering inclusive and equitable digital technologies that serve diverse communities.
Relates to: ULO6, Presentation (Oral), Timed Online Examination