Objectives of Parallel and Distributed computing

1. What is an interconnection network used for in parallel computers?

A. Graphics rendering
B. Data storage
C. Communication between processors
D. Operating system scheduling
Correct Answer: C
2. Which of the following is a static interconnection network?
A. Crossbar
B. Multistage switching
C. Packet-switched
D. Store-and-forward
Correct Answer: A
3. Dynamic interconnection networks use:
A. Predefined paths
B. Fixed links
C. Switching elements
D. Shared memory
Correct Answer: C
4. Which topology connects each node to exactly two neighbors in a circular fashion?
A. Mesh
B. Star
C. Ring
D. Tree
Correct Answer: C

5. Which topology provides a direct link between every pair of nodes?

A. Ring
B. Mesh
C. Fully Connected
D. Tree
Correct Answer: C
6. In a star topology, the central node is a:
A. Router
B. Terminal
C. Switch or hub
D. Processor
Correct Answer: C
7. What does a router in an interconnection network primarily do?
A. Store data
B. Route data packets
C. Compress signals
D. Display output
Correct Answer: B
8. What is the advantage of a multistage interconnection network (MIN)?
A. High cost
B. Scalability
C. Complex design
D. Limited connectivity
Correct Answer: B
9. Which switching technique stores the entire message before forwarding?
A. Circuit switching
B. Packet switching
C. Store-and-forward
D. Cut-through
Correct Answer: C
10.What is the key difference between packet switching and circuit switching?
A. Use of routers
B. Use of cables
C. Dynamic vs fixed path
D. Encryption method
Correct Answer: C
11.In cut-through switching, forwarding starts after:
A. The entire packet is received
B. The first few bits are received
C. A delay of 1 second
 D. Error checking
Correct Answer: B
12.Which topology is the easiest to expand?
A. Bus
B. Ring
C. Star
D. Mesh
Correct Answer: C
13.Which of the following topologies is most fault-tolerant?
A. Ring
B. Mesh
C. Bus
D. Star
Correct Answer: B
14.In a mesh topology, how are devices connected?
A. Through a single central hub
B. In a circular manner
C. Every node is connected to every other
D. In a hierarchical tree
Correct Answer: C
15.What does WAN stand for?
A. Wide Area Network
B. Wired Access Network
C. Wireless Area Node
D. Web Application Network
Correct Answer: A
16.Which of the following interconnect topologies resembles a pyramid?
A. Star
B. Ring
C. Tree
D. Mesh
Correct Answer: C
17.Which is NOT a switching technique?
A. Circuit switching
B. Packet switching
C. Frame relay
 D. Manual switching
Correct Answer: D
18.In store-and-forward switching, delay is caused due to:
A. Routing overhead
B. Storing the whole message
C. Broken links
D. No delay is involved
Correct Answer: B
19.Which switching technique has the lowest latency?
A. Circuit switching
B. Store-and-forward
C. Cut-through
D. Token switching
Correct Answer: C
20.What is the main disadvantage of a bus topology?
A. Easy to set up
B. Difficult to expand
C. Cost-effective
D. Requires many cables
Correct Answer: B

21.What is replication?
a) Deleting data
b) Copying data to multiple servers
c) Encrypting data
d) Moving data
Answer: b) Copying data to multiple servers
22.What is the main goal of replication?
a) Reduce storage
b) Make systems crash
c) Improve availability and reliability
d) Delay data access
→ Answer: c) Improve availability and reliability
23.If one server fails, replication helps by:
a) Losing all data
 b) Making the system stop
c) Using data from other copies
d) Sending warning emails
→ Answer: c) Using data from other copies
24.Where is replicated data stored?
a) One central server
b) Only in cloud
c) Across multiple servers
d) On the user’s phone
→ Answer: c) Across multiple servers
25.Which one is a benefit of replication?
a) Slower response time
b) Data loss
c) Fault tolerance
d) More internet usage
→ Answer: c) Fault tolerance
26.Replication improves:
a) RAM size
b) Hard drive speed
c) Data availability
d) File size
→ Answer: c) Data availability
27.Which of the following is a challenge of replication?
a) Copying data
b) Deleting files
c) Consistency between copies
d) Compression
→ Answer: c) Consistency between copies
28.What happens when one replica is updated?
a) All replicas are ignored
b) Nothing happens
c) Other replicas must also be updated
d) System stops
→ Answer: c) Other replicas must also be updated
29.More replicas usually mean:
a) Less data access
 b) More availability
c) Less cost
d) More bugs
→ Answer: b) More availability
30.Which company uses replication for availability?
a) Microsoft Word
b) Google
c) Calculator app
d) Notepad
→ Answer: b) Google
31.What does consistency mean in distributed systems?
a) Every copy has same data
b) Only one copy has data
c) Data is always different
d) Data is encrypted
→ Answer: a) Every copy has same data
32.Which model ensures all users see same data immediately?
a) Eventual consistency
b) Weak consistency
c) Strict consistency
d) Lazy consistency
→ Answer: c) Strict consistency
33.Eventual consistency means:
a) Data is deleted later
b) Data becomes consistent over time
c) Data never matches
d) Data is printed
→ Answer: b) Data becomes consistent over time
34.Which consistency model is most relaxed?
a) Strong
b) Strict
c) Eventual
d) Tight
→ Answer: c) Eventual
35.What consistency do social media apps often use?
a) Strict consistency
b) Eventual consistency
c) Strong consistency
d) Real-time consistency
→ Answer: b) Eventual consistency
36.Which model ensures users see their own updates right away?
a) Causal consistency
b) Read-your-writes consistency
c) Eventual consistency
d) Static consistency
→ Answer: b) Read-your-writes consistency
37.Which of these is hardest to achieve?
a) Eventual consistency
b) Weak consistency
c) Strict consistency
d) No consistency
→ Answer: c) Strict consistency
38.Why is consistency hard in distributed systems?
a) All data is on one computer
b) Data is stored in many places
c) No internet
d) No users
→ Answer: b) Data is stored in many places
39.What happens if consistency is not maintained?
a) All data becomes fast
b) Users may get wrong or outdated data
c) Internet stops
d) More memory is used
→ Answer: b) Users may get wrong or outdated data
40.Which consistency model allows operations to appear in order?
a) Linearizability
b) Lazy consistency
c) Backup consistency
d) Random consistency
→ Answer: a) Linearizability
41.What does GPU stand for?
a) General Processing Unit
b) Graphics Processing Unit
c) Great Power Unit
d) General Purpose Unit
Answer: b) Graphics Processing Unit
42.Which company makes the CUDA programming system?
a) Intel
b) AMD
c) NVIDIA
d) IBM
Answer: c) NVIDIA
43.What is the main job of a GPU?
a) Run operating system
 b) Do many calculations at the same time
c) Store files
d) Control keyboard
Answer: b) Do many calculations at the same time
44. CUDA is used to?
a) Write programs for NVIDIA GPUs
b) Make web pages
c) Control a CPU
d) Design hardware
Answer: a) Write programs for NVIDIA GPUs
45.Which is NOT usually done by a GPU?
a) Video games
b) Scientific calculations
c) Sending emails
d) Image processing
Answer: c) Sending emails
46. A GPU has?
a) One big processor
b) Many small processors working together
c) No processors
d) One CPU inside
Answer: b) Many small processors working together
47. What does SIMD stand for?
a) Single Instruction Multiple Data
b) Single Internet Multiple Devices
c) Simple Instruction Manual Data
d) Single Instruction Multiple Devices
Answer: a) Single Instruction Multiple Data
48.In CUDA, a Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) is?
a) A group of CUDA cores that work together
b) The CPU
c) The hard drive
d) A memory unit
Answer: a) A group of CUDA cores that work together
49. GPU memory is?
a) Smaller and slower than CPU memory
b) Bigger and faster than CPU memory
c) The same size as CPU memory
d) Only for storing images
Answer: b) Bigger and faster than CPU memory
50. What is "heterogeneity" in computer systems?
a) All computers are the same
b) Different types of computers and software in one system
c) Only one type of software is used
 d) Only one type of computer is used
Answer: b) Different types of computers and software in one system
51.What does heterogeneity mean in computer systems?
a) All computers are the same
b) Different types of computers and software working together
c) Only one type of software is used
d) Only one computer is used
Answer: b) Different types of computers and software working together
52.Which of the following is an example of heterogeneity?
a) A system with Windows PC and Linux servers
b) All computers running the same OS
c) Using only one programming language
d) One type of hardware in a data center
Answer: a) A system with Windows PC and Linux servers
53.What helps to manage heterogeneity by making different systems appear the same?
a) Virtual machines
b) Faster processors
c) Larger hard drives
d) Same screen size
Answer: a) Virtual machines
54.Mobile code is:
a) Code that moves from one machine to another
b) Code that cannot be moved
c) Code used only on mobile phones
d) Code that is fixed to one computer
Answer: a) Code that moves from one machine to another
55.Which is NOT a benefit of heterogeneity?
a) Flexibility in using different hardware and software
b) Easy compatibility without extra tools
c) Ability to run specialized tasks on specific systems
d) Using the best tool for each job
Answer: b) Easy compatibility without extra tools
56.What is code migration?
a) Moving code from one computer to another to run it
b) Copying files on the same computer
c) Running the code only on one machine
d) Deleting old code
Answer: a) Moving code from one computer to another to run it
57.In heterogeneity, what is a fixed resource?
a) A printer connected to only one computer
b) Code that can move between systems
c) Software that runs on all machines
d) Data stored in the cloud
Answer: a) A printer connected to only one computer
58.Why is heterogeneity common in modern networks?
a) Because of many different devices and systems working together
b) Because all computers use the same hardware
c) Because software is always identical
d) Because only one operating system exists
Answer: a) Because of many different devices and systems working together
59.What does a virtual machine do in a heterogeneous system?
a) It acts like a computer inside a computer
b) It slows down all programs
c) It removes all software differences
d) It only works on GPUs
Answer: a) It acts like a computer inside a computer
60.What kind of mobility involves moving code with its current running state?
a) Strong mobility
b) Weak mobility
c) No mobility
d) Fixed mobility
Answer: a) Strong mobility
61.What is message passing in distributed systems?
a) Sending emails
b) Exchanging messages between processes to share data
c) Printing documents
d) Running programs sequentially
Answer: b) Exchanging messages between processes to share data
62.In the message passing model, each processor has:
a) Shared memory with all others
b) Its own local memory
c) No memory
d) Memory shared only with one other processor
Answer: b) Its own local memory
63.Which are the two main types of message passing?
a) Fast and slow
b) Synchronous and asynchronous
c) Digital and analog
d) Parallel and serial
Answer: b) Synchronous and asynchronous
64.What does MPI stand for?
a) Message Processing Interface
b) Message Passing Interface
c) Multi-Process Integration
d) Memory Passing Interface
Answer: b) Message Passing Interface
65.MPI is primarily used for communication among:
a) Threads within the same process
 b) Processes with separate address spaces
c) Users on a network
d) Computers in a local network only
Answer: b) Processes with separate address spaces
66.Which type of parallel computing model uses the same instructions on multiple data
items?
a) Task Parallel
b) Data Parallel (SIMD)
c) SPMD
d) Asynchronous
Answer: b) Data Parallel (SIMD)
67.The SPMD model stands for:
a) Single Program, Multiple Data
b) Simple Program, Multiple Devices
c) Single Process, Multiple Devices
d) Shared Program, Multiple Data
Answer: a) Single Program, Multiple Data
68.MPI provides communication for which type of parallelism?
a) SIMD only
b) MIMD/SPMD
c) Sequential only
d) Shared memory only
Answer: b) MIMD/SPMD
69.MPI is:
a) A programming language
b) A compiler
c) A message passing library specification
d) An operating system
Answer: c) A message passing library specification
70.The first MPI standard was released in:
a) 1980
b) 1994
c) 2000
d) 2010
Answer: b) 1994
71.In MPI, which function initializes the MPI environment?
a) MPI_START
b) MPI_BEGIN
c) MPI_INIT
d) MPI_RUN
Answer: c) MPI_INIT
72.Which MPI function is used to send a message?
a) MPI_SEND
b) MPI_RECEIVE
 c) MPI_START
d) MPI_SENDMSG
Answer: a) MPI_SEND
73.What does a blocking send operation mean in MPI?
a) Send completes immediately without waiting
b) Send waits until the message is received
c) Send never completes
d) Send only works with asynchronous calls
Answer: b) Send waits until the message is received
74.What does non-blocking communication allow in MPI?
a) Program waits for message delivery
b) Program continues without waiting for communication to finish
c) Program terminates immediately
d) Program only sends messages once
Answer: b) Program continues without waiting for communication to finish
75.Buffered communication in MPI:
a) Queues messages until they can be sent
b) Sends messages directly without buffering
c) Requires no memory
d) Is always slower than unbuffered
Answer: a) Queues messages until they can be sent
76.Which of the following is NOT an MPI collective operation?
a) Broadcast
b) Scatter
c) Print
d) Gather
Answer: c) Print
77.The main advantage of MPI is:
a) It is a standard supported on many platforms
b) It only works on Windows
c) It automatically optimizes code without programmer input
d) It replaces all compilers
Answer: a) It is a standard supported on many platforms
78.In message passing, what must a send operation have?
a) A matching receive operation
b) No matching operations
c) A file write operation
d) A print command
Answer: a) A matching receive operation
79.Synchronous communication completes when:
a) The message is sent
b) The message is received and acknowledged
c) The program ends
 d) The message is queued
Answer: b) The message is received and acknowledged
80.What does the function MPI_FINALIZE do?
a) Starts MPI environment
b) Terminates MPI environment
c) Sends a message
d) Receives a message
Answer: b) Terminates MPI environment
81.• What is a thread in computing?
a) A hardware device
b) A sequence of instructions executed by CPU
c) A type of process
d) A memory segment
Answer: b
82.Which of the following is NOT a component of a thread?
a) Thread ID
b) CPU Context
c) Process ID
d) Stack
Answer: c
83.Threads within a process share?
a) Code segment only
b) Address space
c) Registers
d) Stack
Answer: b
84. What is the main advantage of multithreading?
a) Easier debugging
b) Better CPU utilization and latency hiding
c) More memory usage
d) Slower execution
Answer: b
85.Which of the following is a POSIX thread function?
a) CreateThread()
b) pthread_create()
c) Thread.start()
d) fork()
Answer: b
86.What is a mutex?
a) A type of thread
b) A lock to ensure mutual exclusion
c) A signal variable
d) A process
Answer: b
87. Which function locks a mutex in pthreads?
a) pthread_mutex_unlock()
b) pthread_mutex_lock()
c) pthread_cond_wait()
d) pthread_create()
Answer: b
88.What happens if multiple threads access shared data without synchronization?
a) Deadlock
b) Data inconsistency
c) Improved performance
d) Automatic scheduling
Answer: b
89. What does pthread_cond_wait() do?
a) Creates a thread
b) Waits on a condition variable and releases the associated mutex
c) Signals a condition variable
d) Locks a mutex
Answer: b
90. What is the critical path in a task dependency graph?
a) The shortest path between tasks
b) The longest path determining minimum execution time
c) Path with most dependencies
d) Path with least nodes
Answer: b
91.Which thread model maps many user threads to many kernel threads?
a) Many-to-One
b) One-to-One
c) Many-to-Many
d) Single-threaded
Answer: c
92.A thread can be best described as?
a) A process
b) An independent program
c) A lightweight process within a process
d) A hardware interrupt
Answer: c
93.What is a condition variable used for?
a) Creating threads
b) Synchronizing threads by waiting for a predicate to become true
c) Locking memory
d) Scheduling threads
Answer: b
94.What happens when pthread_mutex_trylock() fails to acquire the lock?
a) The thread is blocked
 b) It returns immediately with failure
c) It enters deadlock
d) The program crashes
Answer: b
95.What is thread synchronization mainly required to prevent?
a) Thread creation
b) Race conditions
c) Faster execution
d) Deadlocks
Answer: b
96. Which of these is NOT a POSIX thread synchronization primitive?
a) Mutex
b) Semaphore
c) Condition variable
d) Interrupt handler
Answer: d
97. In the producer-consumer problem, the consumer must:
a) Overwrite the buffer
b) Wait until the buffer has data
c) Run only after producer completes
d) Run independently without synchronization
Answer: b
98.Which thread function terminates a thread in POSIX?
a) pthread_exit()
b) pthread_create()
c) pthread_join()
d) pthread_start()
Answer: a
99. What does thread decomposition refer to?
a) Combining threads into one
b) Dividing computation into smaller parallel tasks
c) Killing threads
d) Debugging threads
Answer: b
100. A recursive mutex allows:
a) Only one lock per thread
b) Multiple locks by the same thread without deadlock
c) Only one unlock per thread
d) No locking
Answer: b
What is a parallel algorithm?
A) Runs one step at a time
B) Runs many steps at the same time
 C) Runs on one processor only
D) Does not communicate between parts

Answer: B

What is decomposition?

A) Putting tasks together

B) Breaking a big job into smaller parts
C) Running tasks one after another
D) Using only one processor

Answer: B

What are tasks?

A) Parts of a program to do work

B) Pieces of hardware
C) Memory locations
D) Operating system jobs
Answer: A

What does a task dependency graph show?

A) How tasks depend on each other

B) How memory is used
C) Processor speed
D) Number of tasks

Answer: A

Fine-grained tasks mean:

A) Few big tasks

B) Many small tasks
C) No communication
D) No parallelism
Answer: B

Degree of concurrency means:

A) Number of processors
B) Number of tasks that can run at once
C) Number of inputs
D) Number of outputs
Answer: B
 What is a problem with very small tasks?

A) Less communication
B) More communication overhead
C) Faster computing
D) Bigger tasks
Answer: B

Recursive decomposition is good for:

A) Divide-and-conquer problems like quicksort

B) Problems with no sub-tasks
C) Simple tasks
D) Problems with no data
Answer: A

Which is an example of recursive decomposition?

A) Quicksort
B) Adding numbers
C) Printing data
D) Reading input
B) Answer: A

Owner Computes Rule means:

A) Task owning data does the work on it

B) Central computer does all work
C) Tasks share data randomly
D) Output data done by one task
Answer: A

Exploratory decomposition is used for:

A) Searching solutions
B) Adding numbers
C) Sorting
D) Printing data
Answer: A
Which is NOT a decomposition type?
A) Recursive
B) Data
C) Speculative
D) Sequential
Answer: D
 What limits speed when tasks are too small?

A) Too many processors

B) Communication between tasks
C) Big tasks
D) Number of outputs
Answer: B

Which decomposition splits the output data?

A) Input data decomposition

B) Output data decomposition
C) Recursive
D) Exploratory
Answer: B

Why use hybrid decomposition?

A) To get benefits of different methods

B) To avoid parallelism
C) To slow down program
D) To make tasks big

Answer: A