To synchronize operations of a computing system, a new type of synchronization barrier is disclosed. In one embodiment, the disclosed synchronization barrier provides for certain synchronization mechanisms such as, for example, “Arrive” and “Wait” to be split to allow for greater flexibility and efficiency in coordinating synchronization. In another embodiment, the disclosed synchronization barrier allows for hardware components such as, for example, dedicated copy or direct-memory-access (DMA) engines to be synchronized with software-based threads.