COMPUTER

ORGANIZATION AND
ARCHITECTURE
(COA)
 Computer Architecture Computer Organization
Computer Architecture is concerned with the way Computer Organization is concerned with the
hardware components are connected together to form structure and behaviour of a computer system as seen
a computer system. by the user.

It acts as the interface between hardware and It deals with the components of a connection in a
software. system.

Computer Architecture helps us to understand the Computer Organization tells us how exactly all the
functionalities of a system. units in the system are arranged and interconnected.

A programmer can view architecture in terms of Whereas Organization expresses the realization of
instructions, addressing modes and registers. architecture.
While designing a computer system architecture is
An organization is done on the basis of architecture.
considered first.
Computer Architecture deals with high-level design Computer Organization deals with low-level design
issues. issues.

Architecture involves Logic (Instruction sets, Organization involves Physical Components (Circuit
Addressing modes, Data types, Cache optimization) design, Adders, Signals, Peripherals)
Units:
• Unit – I : Introduction - Computer System:
• Unit – II : Instruction Set - CPU
• Unit – III : Computer Memory System Overview -
Internal Memory - External Memory
• Unit – IV : Characteristics of CISC and RISC
• Control unit - Micro Programmed Control
• Unit – V : Processor Structure and Function  
• Unit – VI : Input/Output
Books:
• 1. William Stallings, “Computer Organization and
Architecture – Designing for Performance”, Prentice
Hall, 9th Edition, 2013
• 2. John P.Hayes, “Computer Architecture and
Organization”, Tata McGraw Hill, 3rd Edition, 2002.
Unit - 1
• Introduction:
• Organization and Architecture,
• Structure and Function
• Computer Evolution - Brief history of computers
• Designing for performance.
• Computer System: Components, Function
• Interconnection Structures
• Bus interconnection
• PCI.
Introduction
• Architecture is those attributes visible to the
programmer
• Instruction set, number of bits used for data
representation, I/O mechanisms, addressing techniques.
• e.g. Is there a multiply instruction?
• Organization is how features are implemented
• Control signals, interfaces, memory technology.
• e.g. Is there a hardware multiply unit or is it done by
repeated addition?
Computer Architecture & Organization
•Attributes of a •Instruction set, number
system visible to of bits used to represent
the programmer various data types, I/O
•Have a direct mechanisms, techniques
impact on the for addressing memory
logical execution
of a program Computer Architectural
Architecture attributes include:

Organizational Computer
•Hardware details attributes include: Organization
transparent to the •The operational units
programmer, control and their
signals, interfaces between interconnections that
the computer and realize the architectural
peripherals, memory specifications
technology used
Computer Architecture & Organization
• All Intel x86 family share the same basic
architecture
• The IBM System/370 family share the same basic
architecture

• This gives code compatibility

• At least backwards
• Organization differs between different versions
IBM System/370 architecture
• Was introduced in 1970
• Included a number of models
• Could upgrade to a more expensive, faster model
without having to abandon original software
• New models are introduced with improved
technology, but retain the same architecture so
that the customer’s software investment is
protected
• Architecture has survived to this day as the
architecture of IBM’s mainframe product line
Structure and Function
• Structure: The way in which components relate to
each other.
• Function: The operation of each individual
component as part of the structure.
Function
• There are only four basic
functions that a
computer can perform
1. Data processing
2. Data storage
3. Data movement
4. Control
Function
• Data processing: Data may take a wide variety of
forms, and the range of processing requirements is
broad. However, we shall see that there are only a
few fundamental methods or types of data
processing.
• Data storage: Even if the computer is processing
data on the fly, the computer must temporarily
store at least those pieces of data that are being
worked on at any given moment. Thus, there is at
least a short-term data storage function.
• Equally important, the computer performs a long-
term data storage function.
Function
• Data movement: The computer’s operating
environment consists of devices that serve as either
sources or destinations of data.
• When data are received from or delivered to a
device that is directly connected to the computer,
the process is known as input–output(I/O), and the
device is referred to as a peripheral.
• When data are moved over longer distances, to or
from a remote device, the process is known as data
communications.
• Control: Within the computer, a control unit
manages the computer’s resources and
orchestrates the performance of its functional parts
in response to instructions.
Structure
Single-Processor Computer:
• There are four main structural components:
• Central processing unit (CPU)
• Main memory
• I/O
• System interconnection
Structure
• CPU – controls the operation of the computer and
performs its data processing functions
• Main Memory – stores data
• I/O – moves data between the computer and its
external environment
• System Interconnection – some mechanism that
provides for communication among CPU, main
memory, and I/O
Structure
System Interconnection
• Common example of system interconnection is by
means of a system bus, consisting of a number of
conducting wires to which all the other
components attach.
CPU
• CPU major structural components are as follows:
• Control unit: Controls the operation of the CPU and
hence the computer.
• Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU): Performs the
computer’s data processing functions.
• Registers: Provides storage internal to the CPU.
• CPU interconnection: Some mechanism that
provides for communication among the control
unit, ALU, and registers.
Control unit
• A common approach for control unit is a
microprogrammed implementation
• A microprogrammed control unit operates by
executing microinstructions that define the
functionality of the control unit.
Multicore computer structure
• Contemporary computers generally have multiple
processors.
• When these processors all reside on a single chip,
the term multicore computer is used, and each
processing unit (consisting of a control unit, ALU,
registers, and perhaps cache) is called a core.
Multicore computer structure
• Central processing unit (CPU): That portion of a computer
that fetches and executes instructions. It consists of an ALU,
a control unit, and registers.
• In a system with a single processing unit, it is often simply
referred to as a processor.
• Core: An individual processing unit on a processor chip.
• A core may be equivalent in functionality to a CPU on a
single- CPU system.
• Other specialized processing units, such as one optimized for
vector and matrix operations, are also referred to as cores.
• Processor: A physical piece of silicon containing one or more
cores.
• The processor is the computer component that interprets
and executes instructions.
• If a processor contains multiple cores, it is referred to as a
multicore processor.
Multicore computer structure
Chip
• A chip is a single piece of semiconducting material,
typically silicon, upon which electronic circuits and
logic gates are fabricated. The resulting product is
referred to as an integrated circuit.
Core
• The functional elements of a core are:
• Instruction logic: This includes the tasks involved in
fetching instructions, and decoding each instruction
to determine the instruction operation and the
memory locations of any operands.
• Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU): Performs the
operation specified by an instruction.
• Load/store logic: Manages the transfer of data to
and from main memory via cache.
Cache memory
• Cache memory, between the processor and main
memory.
• Cache memory is smaller and faster than main memory
and is used to speed up memory access, by placing in
the cache data from main memory, that is likely to be
used in the near future.
• The core also contains an L1 cache, split between an
instruction cache (I-cache) that is used for the transfer
of instructions to and from main memory, and an L1
data cache, for the transfer of operands and results.
• Typically, today’s processor chips also include an L2
cache as part of the core. In many cases, this cache is
also split between instruction and data caches,
although a combined, single L2 cache is also used.
Computer Evolution - Brief history of
computers
• The First Generation: Vacuum Tubes
• The Second Generation: Transistors
• The Third Generation: Integrated Circuits
• Later Generations: LSI, VLSI, ULSI
First Generation – Vacuum Tubes
• A fundamental design approach first implemented
in the IAS computer is known as the stored-
program concept.
• The first publication of the idea was in a 1945
proposal by Von Neumann for a new computer, the
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Computer).
• In 1946, von Neumann and his colleagues began
the design of a new stored-program computer,
referred to as the IAS computer (Institute for
Advanced Study) in Princeton, New Jersey.
• Although IAS computer was not completed until
1952, it is the prototype of all subsequent general-
purpose computers
Vacuum Tubes
Vacuum Tubes
Structure of von Neumann Machine
IAS Structure

CA: Central Arithmetic

CC: Central Control
IAS Computer
• The memory of the IAS consists of 4,096 storage
locations, called words, of 40 binary digits (bits)
each. Both data and instructions are stored there.
• The control unit operates the IAS by fetching
instructions from memory and executing them one
at a time.
• Both the control unit and the ALU contain storage
locations, called registers.
Registers
• Memory buffer register (MBR): Contains a word to be
stored in memory or sent to the I/O unit, or is used to
receive a word from memory or from the I/O unit.
• Memory address register (MAR): Specifies the address
in memory of the word to be written from or read into
the MBR.
• Instruction register (IR): Contains the 8-bit opcode
instruction being executed.
• Instruction buffer register (IBR): Employed to hold
temporarily the right-hand instruction from a word in
memory.
• Program counter (PC): Contains the address of the next
instruction pair to be fetched from memory.
• Accumulator (AC) and Multiplier Quotient (MQ):
Employed to hold temporarily operands and results of
ALU operations.
IAS Memory Formats
IAS Instruction Set
IAS Instruction Set
• The IAS computer had a total of 21 instructions, These can
be grouped as follows:
• Data transfer: Move data between memory and ALU
registers or between two ALU registers.
• Unconditional branch: Normally, the control unit executes
instructions in sequence from memory. This sequence can
be changed by a branch instruction, which facilitates
repetitive operations.
• Conditional branch: The branch can be made dependent on
a condition, thus allowing decision points.
• Arithmetic: Operations performed by the ALU.
• Address modify: Permits addresses to be computed in the
ALU and then inserted into instructions stored in memory
The Second Generation: Transistors
• Replacement of the vacuum tube by the transistor.
• The transistor, which is smaller, cheaper, and
generates less heat than a vacuum tube, can be
used in the same way as a vacuum tube to
construct computers.
• The transistor was invented at Bell Labs in 1947 and
by the 1950s had launched an electronic revolution.
• It is a solid state device made from silicon
• It has become widely accepted to classify
computers into generations based on the
fundamental hardware technology employed.
The Second Generation: Software
• The second generation saw the introduction of
more complex arithmetic and logic units and
control units, the use of high-level programming
languages, and the provision of system software
with the computer.
• System software provided the ability to load
programs, move data to peripherals, and libraries to
perform common computations, similar to what
modern operating systems, such as Windows and
Linux, do.
The Second Generation: Memory
• The size of main memory, in multiples of 210 36-bit
words, grew from 2k (1k = 210) to 32k words,
• While the time to access one word of memory, the
memory cycle time, fell from 30 ms to 1.4 ms.
• The number of opcodes grew from a modest 24 to
185.
• The relative speed of the CPU increased by a factor
of 50.
• Speed improvements are achieved by improved
electronics (e.g., a transistor implementation is
faster than a vacuum tube implementation) and
more complex circuitry.
The Second Generation:
Data Channels
• Use of data channels, an independent I/O module
with its own processor and instruction set.
• CPU does not execute detailed I/O instructions.
• Such instructions are stored in a main memory to
be executed by a special-purpose processor in the
data channel itself.
• The data channel performs its task independently
of the CPU and signals the CPU when the operation
is complete.
• This arrangement relieves the CPU of a
considerable processing burden.
The Second Generation:
Multiplexor
• Another new feature is the multiplexor, which is the
central termination point for data channels, CPU,
and memory.
• The multiplexor schedules access to the memory
from the CPU and data channels, allowing these
devices to act independently.
Second-
Generation
Computer
Third Generation: Integrated Circuits
• In 1958 came the achievement that revolutionized
electronics and started the era of microelectronics:
the invention of the integrated circuit.
• Microelectronics means, literally, “small
electronics.” Since the beginnings of digital
electronics and the computer industry, there has
been a persistent and consistent trend towards the
reduction in size of digital electronic circuits.
• The two most important members of the third
generation were the IBM System/360 and the DEC
PDP-8
Fundamental Computer Elements
• Data storage – provided by memory cells
• Data processing – provided by gates
• Data movement – the paths among components
are used to move data from memory to memory
and from memory through gates to memory
• Control – the paths among components can carry
control signals
• A computer consists of gates, memory cells, and
interconnections among these elements
Fundamental Computer Elements
• Only two fundamental types of components are
required : Gates and Memory cells.
Fundamental Computer Elements
• Gate: is a device that implements a simple Boolean
or logical function, such as IF A AND B ARE TRUE
THEN C IS TRUE (AND gate). Such devices are called
gates because they control data flow in much the
same way that canal gates control the flow of
water.
• Memory cell: is a device that can store one bit of
data; that is, the device can be in one of two stable
states at any time.
• By interconnecting large numbers of these
fundamental devices, we can construct a computer.
Integrated circuit
• The gates and memory cells are constructed of
simple electronic components, such as transistors
and capacitors.
• Integrated circuit exploits the fact that such
components like transistors, resistors, and
conductors can be fabricated from a semiconductor
such as silicon.
• Many transistors can be produced at the same time
on a single wafer of silicon.
• Transistors can be connected with a processor
metallization to form circuits
Integrated circuit
• Wafer,
Chip,
and
Gate
Integrated circuit
• A thin wafer of silicon is divided into a matrix of small
areas, each a few millimeters square.
• The identical circuit pattern is fabricated in each area,
and the wafer is broken up into chips.
• Each chip consists of many gates and/or memory cells
plus a number of input and output attachment points.
• This chip is then packaged in housing that protects it
and provides pins for attachment to devices beyond the
chip.
• A number of these packages can then be
interconnected on a printed circuit board to produce
larger and more complex circuits.
• These early integrated circuits are referred to as small-
scale integration (SSI).
Chip Growth
Moore’s Law

•1965; Gordon Moore – co-founder of Intel

•Observed number of transistors that could be put on a single chip was doubling
every year
•The pace slowed to a doubling every 18 months in the 1970’s but has sustained
that rate ever since
•Consequences of Moore’s law:
• The cost of computer logic and memory circuitry has fallen at a dramatic rate

• The electrical path length is shortened, increasing operating speed

• Computer becomes smaller and is more convenient to use in a variety of environments

• Reduction in power and cooling requirements

• Fewer interchip connections

Consequences of Moore’s law
• The cost of a chip has remained virtually unchanged
during this period of rapid growth in density. This
means that the cost of computer logic and memory
circuitry has fallen at a dramatic rate.
• Because logic and memory elements are placed closer
together on more densely packed chips, the electrical
path length is shortened, increasing operating speed.
• The computer becomes smaller, making it more
convenient to place in a variety of environments.
• There is a reduction in power requirements.
• The interconnections on the integrated circuit are much
more reliable than solder connections. With more
circuitry on each chip, there are fewer interchip
connections.
IBM System/360
• In 1964, IBM announced the System/360, a new
family of computer products.
• With some modifications and extensions, the
architecture of the 360 remains to this day the
architecture of IBM’s mainframe computers.
• The models were compatible in the sense that a
program written for one model should be capable
of being executed by another model in the series,
with only a difference in the time it takes to
execute.
IBM System/360
• The characteristics of a family are as follows:
• Similar or identical instruction set
• Similar or identical operating system
• Increasing speed
• Increasing number of I/O ports
• Increasing memory size
• Increasing cost
• The System/360 not only dictated the future course
of IBM but also had a profound impact on the
entire industry.
DEC PDP-8
• Digital Equipment Corporation
• Programmable Data Processor
• At a time when the average computer required an
air- conditioned room, the PDP-8 (minicomputer)
was small enough that it could be placed on top of
a lab bench or be built into other equipment.
• The low cost and small size of the PDP-8 enabled
another manufacturer to purchase a PDP-8 and
integrate it into a total system for resale.
• These other manufacturers came to be known as
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),
Later Generations
• With the introduction of large-scale integration
(LSI), more than 1,000 components can be placed
on a single integrated circuit chip.
• Very-large-scale integration (VLSI) achieved more
than 10,000 components per chip, while current
ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) chips can
contain more than one billion components.
• Two of the most important developments in later
generations are
• Semiconductor Memory
• Microprocessors
Semiconductor Memory
• The first application of integrated circuit technology
to computers was construction of the processor
(the control unit and the arithmetic and logic unit)
out of integrated circuit chips.
• But it was also found that this same technology
could be used to construct memories.
• In the 1950s and 1960s, most computer memory
was constructed from tiny rings of ferromagnetic
material, each about a sixteenth of an inch in
diameter.
• It was expensive and bulky, and used destructive
readout
Semiconductor Memory
• Then, in 1970, Fairchild produced the first relatively
capacious semiconductor memory. It could hold
256 bits of memory.
• It was nondestructive and much faster than core.
• Since 1970, semiconductor memory has been
through 13 generations: 1k, 4k, 16k, 64k, 256k, 1M,
4M, 16M, 64M, 256M, 1G, 4G, and 8 Gb on a single
chip.
• Each generation has provided increased storage
density, accompanied by declining cost per bit and
declining access time.
Microprocessors
• As the density of elements on memory chips has
continued to rise, so as the density of elements on
processor chips.
• A breakthrough was achieved in 1971, when Intel
developed its 4004. The 4004 was the first chip to
contain all of the components of a CPU on a single
chip: The microprocessor was born.
• The 4004 can add two 4-bit numbers and can
multiply only by repeated addition.
• The next major step in the evolution of the
microprocessor was the introduction in 1972 of the
Intel 8008. This was the first 8-bit microprocessor
and was almost twice as complex as the 4004.
Microprocessors
• In 1974 Intel 8080 was introduced. This was the
first general-purpose microprocessor.
• Whereas the 4004 and the 8008 had been designed
for specific applications, the 8080 was designed to
be the CPU of a general-purpose microcomputer.
• 8080, is faster, has a richer instruction set, and has
a large addressing capability.
• In 1970s that powerful, general-purpose 16-bit
microprocessors appeared. One of these was the
8086.
• in 1981, when both Bell Labs and Hewlett- Packard
developed 32-bit, single-chip microprocessors. Intel
introduced its own 32-bit microprocessor, the
80386, in 1985
Evolution of Intel Microprocessors
Evolution of Intel Microprocessors
x86 Evolution
• 8080
• first general purpose microprocessor
• 8 bit data path
• Used in first personal computer – Altair
• 8086 – 5MHz – 29,000 transistors
• much more powerful
• 16 bit
• instruction cache, prefetch few instructions
• 8088 (8 bit external bus) used in first IBM PC
• 80286
• 16 Mbyte memory addressable
• up from 1Mb
• 80386
• 32 bit
• Support for multitasking
• 80486
• sophisticated powerful cache and instruction pipelining
• built in maths co-processor
x86 Evolution
• Pentium
• Superscalar
• Multiple instructions executed in parallel
• Pentium Pro
• Increased superscalar organization
• Aggressive register renaming
• branch prediction
• data flow analysis
• Pentium II
• MMX technology (Multi Media Extension)
• graphics, video & audio processing
• Pentium III
• Additional floating point instructions for 3D graphics
x86 Evolution
• Pentium 4
• Note Arabic rather than Roman numerals
• Further floating point and multimedia enhancements
• Core
• First x86 with dual core
• Core 2
• 64 bit architecture
• Core 2 Quad – 3GHz – 820 million transistors
• Four processors on chip

• x86 architecture dominant outside embedded systems

• Organization and technology changed dramatically
• Instruction set architecture evolved with backwards compatibility
• ~1 instruction per month added, so that there are now thousands of instructions
in the instruction set.
Designing for Performance
• Year by year, the cost of computer systems
continues to drop dramatically, while the
performance and capacity of those systems
continue to rise equally dramatically.
• Desktop applications that require the great power
of today’s microprocessor-based systems include
• Image processing
• Speech recognition
• Video conferencing
• Multimedia authoring
• Voice and video annotation of files
• Simulation modeling
Designing for Performance
• Workstation systems now support highly
sophisticated engineering and scientific applications
and have the capacity to support image and video
applications.
• In addition, businesses are relying on increasingly
powerful servers to handle transaction and
database processing and to support massive
client/server networks that have replaced the huge
mainframe computer centers of yesteryear
Microprocessor Speed
• The evolution of Microprocessors continues to bear
out Moore’s law. So long as this law holds,
chipmakers can unleash a new generation of chips
every three years—with four times as many
transistors.
• In microprocessors, the addition of new circuits,
and the speed boost that comes from reducing the
distances between them, has improved
performance four- or fivefold every three years or
so since Intel launched its x86 family in 1978.
Microprocessor Speed
• The techniques built into contemporary processors
are the following:
• Pipelining: The execution of an instruction involves
multiple stages of operation, including fetching the
instruction, decoding the opcode, fetching
operands, performing a calculation, and so on.
• Pipelining enables a processor to work
simultaneously on multiple instructions by
performing a different phase for each of the
multiple instructions at the same time.
• For example, while one instruction is being
executed, the computer is decoding the next
instruction. This is the same principle as seen in an
assembly line.
Microprocessor Speed
• Branch prediction: The processor looks ahead in
the instruction code fetched from memory and
predicts which branches, or groups of instructions,
are likely to be processed next.
• Thus, branch prediction potentially increases the
amount of work available for the processor to
execute.
• Superscalar execution: This is the ability to issue
more than one instruction in every processor clock
cycle. In effect, multiple parallel pipelines are used.
Microprocessor Speed
• Data flow analysis: The processor analyzes which
instructions are dependent on each other’s results,
or data, to create an optimized schedule of
instructions. This prevents unnecessary delay.
• Speculative execution: Using branch prediction and
data flow analysis, some processors speculatively
execute instructions ahead of their actual
appearance in the program execution, holding the
results in temporary locations.
• This enables the processor to keep its execution
engines as busy as possible by executing
instructions that are likely to be needed.
Performance Balance
• While processor power has raced ahead at high
speed, other critical components of the computer
have not kept up.
• The result is a need to look for performance
balance: an adjusting of the organization and
architecture to compensate for the mismatch
among the capabilities of the various components.
• The interface between processor and main memory
is the most crucial pathway in the entire computer
because it is responsible for carrying a constant
flow of program instructions and data between
memory chips and the processor.
Performance Balance
• There are a number of ways that a system architect
can attack this problem, all of which are reflected in
contemporary computer designs. Consider the
following examples:

• Increase the number of bits that are retrieved at

one time by making DRAMs “wider” rather than
“deeper” and by using wide bus data paths.
• Change the DRAM interface to make it more
efficient by including a cache or other buffering
scheme on the DRAM chip.
Performance Balance
• Reduce the frequency of memory access by
incorporating increasingly complex and efficient
cache structures between the processor and main
memory.
• Increase the interconnect bandwidth between
processors and memory by using higher speed
buses and by using a hierarchy of buses to buffer
and structure data flow.
Improvements in Chip Organization
and Architecture
There are three approaches to achieving increased
processor speed:
• Increase the hardware speed of the processor.
• Increase the size and speed of caches that are
interposed between the processor and main
memory. In particular, by dedicating a portion of
the processor chip itself to the cache, cache access
times drop significantly.
• Make changes to the processor organization and
architecture that increase the effective speed of
instruction execution.
Improvements in Chip Organization
and Architecture
• However, as clock speed and logic density increase,
a number of obstacles become more significant:
• Power
• RC Delay
• Memory Latency
• RC delay: The speed at which electrons can flow on
a chip between transistors is limited by the
resistance and capacitance of the metal wires
connecting them; specifically, delay increases as the
RC product increases. As components on the chip
decrease in size, the wire interconnects become
thinner, increasing resistance. Also, the wires are
closer together, increasing capacitance.
Improvements in Chip Organization
and Architecture
• Power: As the density of logic and the clock speed
on a chip increase, so does the power density.
• Memory latency: Memory speeds lag processor
speeds.
• Beginning in the late 1980s, and continuing for
about 15 years, two main strategies have been used
to increase performance beyond what can be
achieved simply by increasing clock speed. First,
there has been an increase in cache capacity.
Second, the instruction execution logic within a
processor has become increasingly complex to
enable parallel execution of instructions within the
processor.
Computer Components
• Von Neumann architecture and is based on three
key concepts:
• Data and instructions are stored in a single read–write
memory.
• The contents of this memory are addressable by
location, without regard to the type of data contained
there.
• Execution occurs in a sequential fashion (unless explicitly
modified) from one instruction to the next.
Computer Components
• There is a small set of basic logic components that
can be combined in various ways to store binary
data and perform arithmetic and logical operations
on that data.
• If there is a particular computation to be
performed, a configuration of logic components
designed specifically for that computation could be
constructed.
• The process of connecting the various components
in the desired configuration as a form of
programming. The resulting “program” is in the
form of hardware and is termed a hardwired
program.
Program
• Hardwired systems are inflexible.
• General purpose hardware can do different tasks, given
correct control signals
• Instead of re-wiring, supply a new set of control signals.
• Program is a sequence of steps
• For each step, an arithmetic or logical operation is
done.
• For each operation, a different set of control signals is
needed.
• For each operation a unique code is provided
• e.g. ADD, MOVE
• Control Unit is A hardware segment accepts the code
and issues the control signals
Program
Components
• The Control Unit and the Arithmetic and Logic Unit
constitute the Central Processing Unit
• Data and instructions need to get into the system
and results out
• Input/output
• Temporary storage of code and results is needed
• Main memory
Computer Components:
Top Level View
Components
• The CPU exchanges data with memory.
• For this purpose, it typically makes use of two
internal (to the CPU) registers:
• Memory Address Register (MAR), which specifies the
address in memory for the next read or write.
• Memory Buffer Register (MBR), which contains the data
to be written into memory or receives the data read
from memory.
• Similarly, an I/O Address Register (I/OAR) specifies a
particular I/O device. An I/O Buffer Register (I/OBR)
is used for the exchange of data between an I/O
module and the CPU.
Components
• A Memory Module consists of a set of locations,
defined by sequentially numbered addresses.
• Each location contains a binary number that can be
interpreted as either an instruction or data.
• An I/O module transfers data from external devices
to CPU and memory, and vice versa.
• It contains internal buffers for temporarily holding
these data until they can be sent on.
Computer Function
• The basic function performed by a computer is execution of
a program, which consists of a set of instructions stored in
memory.
• The processing required for a single instruction is called an
Instruction Cycle.
• Instruction processing consists of two steps:
• The processor Reads (Fetches) instructions from memory one at a
time and
• Executes each instruction.
• Program execution consists of repeating the process of
Instruction Fetch (Fetch Cycle) and Instruction Execution
(Execute Cycle).
Fetch Cycle
• Program Counter (PC) holds address of next
instruction to fetch
• Processor fetches instruction from memory location
pointed to by PC
• Increment PC
• Unless told otherwise
• Instruction loaded into Instruction Register (IR)
• Processor interprets instruction and performs
required actions
Execute Cycle
• Processor-memory
• Data transfer between CPU and main memory
• Processor I/O
• Data transfer between CPU and I/O module
• Data processing
• Some arithmetic or logical operation on data
• Control
• Alteration of sequence of operations
• e.g. jump
• An instruction’s execution may involve a
combination of these above actions
 Example using a Hypothetical machine

• 0001 = Load AC from

memory
• 0010 = Store AC to
memory
• 0101 = Add to AC
from memory
Example using a Hypothetical machine
Three instructions are required:
1. The PC contains 300, the address of the first instruction. This
instruction (the value 1940 in hexadecimal) is loaded into the
instruction register IR and the PC is incremented.
2. The first 4 bits (first hexadecimal digit) in the IR indicate that the AC is
to be loaded. The remaining 12 bits (three hexadecimal digits) specify
the address (940) from which data are to be loaded.
3. The next instruction (5941) is fetched from location 301 and the PC is
incremented.
4. The old contents of the AC and the contents of location 941 are
added and the result is stored in the AC.
5. The next instruction (2941) is fetched from location 302 and the PC is
incremented.
6. The contents of the AC are stored in location 941.
Instruction Cycle State Diagram
Interrupts
• Virtually all computers provide a mechanism by
which other modules (I/O, memory) may interrupt
the normal processing of the processor.
• Interrupts are provided primarily as a way to
improve processing efficiency.
• Mechanism by which other modules (e.g. I/O) may
interrupt normal sequence of processing
Interrupts - Classification
• Program
• e.g. overflow, division by zero
• Timer
• Generated by internal processor timer
• Used in pre-emptive multi-tasking
• I/O
• from I/O controller
• Hardware failure
• e.g. memory parity error
Program Flow Control
Transfer of Control via Interrupts
Instruction Cycle with Interrupts
Instruction Cycle with Interrupts
• In the interrupt cycle, the processor checks to see if
any interrupts have occurred, indicated by the
presence of an interrupt signal.
• If no interrupts are pending,
• the processor proceeds to the fetch cycle and fetches
the next instruction of the current program.
• If an interrupt is pending, the processor does the
following:
• It suspends execution of the current program being
executed and saves its context. This means saving the
address of the next instruction to be executed (current
contents of the program counter) and any other data
relevant to the processor’s current activity.
• It sets the program counter to the starting address of an
interrupt handler routine.
Instruction Cycle with Interrupts
• The processor now proceeds to the fetch cycle and
fetches the first instruction in the interrupt handler
program, which will service the interrupt.
• The interrupt handler program is generally part of
the operating system. Typically, this program
determines the nature of the interrupt and
performs whatever actions are needed.
• When the interrupt handler routine is completed,
the processor can resume execution of the user
program at the point of interruption.
Interrupt Cycle
• Added to instruction cycle
• Processor checks for interrupt
• Indicated by an interrupt signal
• If no interrupt, fetch next instruction
• If interrupt pending:
• Suspend execution of current program
• Save context
• Set PC to start address of interrupt handler routine
• Process interrupt
• Restore context and continue interrupted program
Interconnection Structures
• A computer is a network of basic modules(CPU, I/O,
Memory).
• Thus, there must be paths for connecting the
modules.
• The collection of paths connecting the various
modules is called the interconnection structure.
• The design of this structure will depend on the
exchanges that must be made among modules.
Interconnection Structures
• The interconnection structure must support the
following types of transfers:
• Memory to processor: The processor reads an
instruction or a unit of data from memory.
• Processor to memory: The processor writes a unit of
data to memory.
• I/O to processor: The processor reads data from an I/O
device via an I/O module.
• Processor to I/O: The processor sends data to the I/O
device.
• I/O to or from memory: For these two cases, an I/O
module is allowed to exchange data directly with
memory, without going through the processor, using
direct memory access.
Interconnection Structures
• The most common interconnection structures are
(1) the bus and various multiple-bus structures, and
(2) point-to-point interconnection structures with
packetized data transfer.
• e.g. Control/Address/Data bus (PC)
• e.g. Unibus (DEC-PDP)
Bus Interconnection
• A communication pathway connecting two or more
devices
• Usually broadcast
• Often grouped
• A number of channels in one bus
• e.g. 32 bit data bus is 32 separate single bit channels
• Power lines may not be shown
Data Bus
• Carries data
• Remember that there is no difference between “data”
and “instruction” at this level
• Width is a key determinant of performance
• 8, 16, 32, 64 bit
Address Bus
• Identify the source or destination of data
• e.g. CPU needs to read an instruction (data) from a
given location in memory
• Bus width determines maximum memory capacity
of system
• e.g. 8080 has 16 bit address bus giving 64k address
space

Control Bus
• Control and timing information
• Memory read/write signal
• Interrupt request
• Clock signals
Control lines
Typical control lines include:
• Memory write: causes data on the bus to be written into the addressed location.
• Memory read: causes data from the addressed location to be placed on the bus.
• I/O write: causes data on the bus to be output to the addressed I/O port.
• I/O read: causes data from the addressed I/O port to be placed on the bus.
• Transfer ACK: indicates that data have been accepted from or placed on the bus.
• Bus request: indicates that a module needs to gain control of the bus.
• Bus grant: indicates that a requesting module has been granted control of the bus.
• Interrupt request: indicates that an interrupt is pending.
• Interrupt ACK: acknowledges that the pending interrupt has been recognized.
• Clock: is used to synchronize operations.
• Reset: initializes all modules.
Bus Operation
• If one module wishes to send data to another, it
must do two things: (1) obtain the use of the bus,
and (2) transfer data via the bus.
• If one module wishes to request data from another
module, it must (1) obtain the use of the bus, and
(2) transfer a request to the other module over the
appropriate control and address lines. It must then
wait for that second module to send the data.
PCI
• Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
• It is popular high-bandwidth, processor-
independent bus that can function as a
Intermediate or peripheral bus.
• Compared with other common bus specifications,
PCI delivers better system performance for high-
speed I/O subsystems (e.g., graphic display
adapters, network interface controllers, and disk
controllers).