The development of a simple computing platform called Beehive at Microsoft Research has become the foundation of a new course at MIT: 6.173 Multicore Systems Laboratory. Originally designed as a low-cost platform meant to spark innovation in computer architecture research, the Beehive system was used during a 2010 IAP course taught by CSAIL Professor Frans Kaashoek, Co-Director Chris Terman, Professor Robert Morris, Assistant Professor Nickolai Zeldovich and graduate student Silas Boyd-Wickizer to rave reviews, with students competing to develop the quickest solution to the traveling-salesman problem.
Due to the success of the IAP class, the curriculum was transformed into a full-length course for the fall 2010 semester, with CSAIL Director Anant Agarwal joining the teaching staff and Microsoft Researchers Chuck Thacker, Andrew Birrell and Tom Rodeheffer joining as guest lecturers.
Due to the success of the IAP class, the curriculum was transformed into a full-length course for the fall 2010 semester, with CSAIL Director Anant Agarwal joining the teaching staff and Microsoft Researchers Chuck Thacker, Andrew Birrell and Tom Rodeheffer joining as guest lecturers.
The goal of the class and Microsoft’s Beehive platform is simple, yet one seen as essential to computer science: supporting research in multicore processors.
Read more about the class and Beehive here.