This document discusses different types of parallel processing architectures including single instruction single data stream (SISD), single instruction multiple data stream (SIMD), multiple instruction single data stream (MISD), and multiple instruction multiple data stream (MIMD). It provides details on tightly coupled symmetric multiprocessors (SMPs) and non-uniform memory access (NUMA) systems. It also covers cache coherence protocols like MESI and approaches to improving processor performance through multithreading and chip multiprocessing.