Q. What are advantages of using a glass substrate for a magnetic disk?

6.1 Improvement in the uniformity of the magnetic film surface to increase disk
reliability. A significant reduction in overall surface defects to help reduce read/write
errors. Ability to support lower fly heights (described subsequently). Better stiffness to
reduce disk dynamics. Greater ability to withstand shock and damage
Q. How a data written onto a magnetic disk?
6.2 The write mechanism is based on the fact that electricity flowing through a coil
produces a magnetic field. Pulses are sent to the write head, and magnetic patterns are
recorded on the surface below, with different patterns for positive and negative currents.
An electric current in the wire induces a magnetic field across the gap, which in turn
magnetizes a small area of the recording medium. Reversing the direction of the current
reverses the direction of the magnetization on the recording medium.
Q. How a data read from a magnetic disk?
6.3 The read head consists of a partially shielded magnetoresistive (MR) sensor. The
MR material has an electrical resistance that depends on the direction of the
magnetization of the medium moving under it. By passing a current through the MR
sensor, resistance changes are detected as voltage signals.
Q. Explain the difference between a cav system and a multiple zone recording
system?
6.4 For the constant angular velocity (CAV) system, the number of bits per track is
constant. An increase in density is achieved with multiple zoned recording, in which
the surface is divided into a number of zones, with zones farther from the center
containing more bits than zones closer to the center.
Q. Define the terms track, cylinder and sector?
6.5 On a magnetic disk. data is organized on the platter in a concentric set of rings,
called tracks. Data are transferred to and from the disk in sectors. For a disk with
multiple platters, the set of all the tracks in the same relative position on the platter is
referred to as a cylinder.
Q. What is a typical disk sector size?
6.6 512 bytes.
Q. Define the term seek time,rotaional time,access time and transfer time?
6.7 On a movable-head system, the time it takes to position the head at the track is
known as seek time. Once the track is selected, the disk controller waits until the
appropriate sector rotates to line up with the head. The time it takes for the beginning of
the sector to reach the head is known as rotational delay. The sum of the seek time, if
any, and the rotational delay equals the access time, which is the time it takes to get
into position to read or write. Once the head is in position, the read or write operation is
then performed as the sector moves under the head; this is the data transfer portion of
the operation and the time for the transfer is the transfer time.

Q. What common characteristics are shared by all raid levels?

6.8 1. RAID is a set of physical disk drives viewed by the operating system as a single
logical drive. 2. Data are distributed across the physical drives of an array.
3. Redundant disk capacity is used to store parity information, which guarantees data
recoverability in case of a disk failure.
Q. Briefly define the 7 raid levels?
6.9 0: Non-redundant 1: Mirrored; every disk has a mirror disk containing the same
data. 2: Redundant via Hamming code; an error-correcting code is calculated across
corresponding bits on each data disk, and the bits of the code are stored in the
corresponding bit positions on multiple parity disks. 3: Bit-interleaved parity; similar to
level 2 but instead of an error-correcting code, a simple parity bit is computed for the set
of individual bits in the same position on all of the data disks.4: Block-interleaved parity;
a bit-by-bit parity strip is calculated across corresponding strips on each data disk, and
the parity bits are stored in the corresponding strip on the parity disk. 5: Blockinterleaved distributed parity; similar to level 4 but distributes the parity strips across all
disks. 6: Blockinterleaved dual distributed parity; two different parity calculations are
carried out and stored in separate blocks on different disks.
Q. Explain the term stripe data?
6.10 The disk is divided into strips; these strips may be physical blocks, sectors, or
some other unit. The strips are mapped round robin to consecutive array members. A
set of logically consecutive strips that maps exactly one strip to each array member is
referred to as a stripe.
Q. How is redundancy achieved in araid system?
6.11 For RAID level 1, redundancy is achieved by having two identical copies of all
data. For higher levels, redundancy is achieved by the use of error-correcting codes.
Q. In the context of raid,what is the distinction between parallel excess and
independent access?
6.12 In a parallel access array, all member disks participate in the execution of every
I/O request. Typically, the spindles of the individual drives are synchronized so that
each disk head is in the same position on each disk at any given time. In an
independent access array, each member disk operates independently, so that
separate I/O requests can be satisfied in parallel.
Q. What is the difference between CAV and CLV?
6.13 For the constant angular velocity (CAV) system, the number of bits per track is
constant. At a constant linear velocity (CLV), the disk rotates more slowly for
accesses near the outer edge than for those near the center. Thus, the capacity of a
track and the rotational delay both increase for positions nearer the outer edge of the
disk.

Q. What difference between a CD and a DVD account for the larger capacity of the
latter?
6.14 1. Bits are packed more closely on a DVD. The spacing between loops of a spiral
on a CD is 1.6 m and the minimum distance between pits along the spiral is 0.834 m.
The DVD uses a laser with shorter wavelength and achieves a loop spacing of 0.74 m
and a minimum distance between pits of 0.4 m. The result of these two improvements
is about a seven-fold increase in capacity, to about 4.7 GB. 2. The DVD employs a
second layer of pits and lands on top of the first layer A dual-layer DVD has a
semireflective layer on top of the reflective layer, and by adjusting focus, the lasers in
DVD drives can read each layer separately. This technique almost doubles the capacity
of the disk, to about 8.5 GB. The lower reflectivity of the second layer limits its storage
capacity so that a full doubling is not achieved.
Q. Explain the serpentine recording?
6.15 The typical recording technique used in serial tapes is referred to as serpentine
recording. In this technique, when data are being recorded, the first set of bits is
recorded along the whole length of the tape. When the end of the tape is reached, the
heads are repositioned to record a new track, and the tape is again recorded on its
whole length, this time in the opposite direction. That process continues, back and forth,
until the tape is full.
Q. List three broad classification of external,or peripheral,devices?
7.1 Human readable: Suitable for communicating with the computer user. Machine
readable: Suitable for communicating with equipment. Communication: Suitable for
communicating with remote devices
Q. What is the international reference alphabet?
7.2 The most commonly used text code is the International Reference Alphabet (IRA), in
which each character is represented by a unique 7-bit binary code; thus, 128 different
characters can be represented.
Q. What are the major functions of an i/o module?
7.3 Control and timing. Processor communication. Device communication. Data
buffering. Error detection.
Q. List and briefly define the techniques for performing i/o?
7.4 Programmed I/O: The processor issues an I/O command, on behalf of a process,
to an I/O module; that process then busy-waits for the operation to be completed
before proceeding. Interrupt-driven I/O: The processor issues an I/O command on
behalf of a process, continues to execute subsequent instructions, and is
interrupted by the I/O module when the latter has completed its work. The
subsequent instructions may be in the same process, if it is not necessary for that
process to wait for the completion of the I/O. Otherwise, the process is suspended
pending the interrupt and other work is performed. Direct memory access
(DMA): A DMA module controls the exchange of data between main memory and
an I/O module. The processor sends a request for the transfer of a block of data to

the DMA module and is interrupted only after the entire block has been
transferred.
Q. What is the difference between memory mapped i/o and isolated i/o?
7.5 With memory-mapped I/O, there is a single address space for memory locations
and I/O devices. The processor treats the status and data registers of I/O modules as
memory locations and uses the same machine instructions to access both memory and
I/O devices. With isolated I/O, a command specifies whether the address refers to a
memory location or an I/O device. The full range of addresses may be available for
both.
Q. When a device interrupt occurs, how does the processor determine which
device issued the interrupt?
7.6 Four general categories of techniques are in common use: multiple interrupt lines;
software poll; daisy chain (hardware poll, vectored); bus arbitration (vectored).
Q. When a DMA module takes control of a bus and while it retains control of the
bus, What does the processor do?
7.7 The processor pauses for each bus cycle stolen by the DMA module.
Q. What are some typical distinguishing characteristics of RISC organization?
13.1 (1) a limited instruction set with a fixed format, (2) a large number of registers or
the use of a compiler that optimizes register usage, and (3) an emphasis on optimizing
the instruction pipeline.
Q. Briefly explain the 2 basic approaches used to minimize register memory
operation on RISC machine?
13.2 Two basic approaches are possible, one based on software and the other on
hardware. The software approach is to rely on the compiler to maximize register usage.
The compiler will attempt to allocate registers to those variables that will
be used the most in a given time period. This approach requires the use of
sophisticated program-analysis algorithms. The hardware approach is simply to
use more registers so that more variables can be held in registers for longer
periods of time.
Q. If a circular buffer register is used to handle local variables for nested
procedures, Describe 2 appraoches for handling global variables.
13.3 (1) Variables declared as global in an HLL can be assigned memory locations by
the compiler, and all machine instructions that reference these variables will use
memory-reference operands. (2) Incorporate a set of global registers in the
processor. These registers would be fixed in number and available to all
procedures
Q. What are typical characteristics of a RISC instruction set archietecture?
13.4 One instruction per cycle. Register-to-register operations. Simple addressing
modes. Simple instruction formats.

Q. What is a delayed Branch?

13.5 Delayed branch, a way of increasing the efficiency of the pipeline, makes use of a
branch that does not take effect until after execution of the following instruction.
Q. Summarize the differences among simple instruction pipelining, Superscalar
and Simultaneous multithreading?
18.1 Pipelining: Individual instructions are executed through a pipeline of stages so
that while one instruction is executing in one stage of the pipeline, another instruction is
executing in another stage of the pipeline.
Superscalar: Multiple pipelines are constructed by replicating execution resources.
This enables parallel execution of instructions in parallel pipelines, so long as hazards
are avoided.
Simultaneous multithreading (SMT): Register banks are replicated so that multiple
threads can share the use of pipeline resources.
Q. Give several reasons for the choice by designers to move to a multicore
organization rather than increase parrelelism within a single processor?
18.2 In the case of pipelining, simple 3-stage pipelines were replaced by pipelines with
5 stages, and then many more stages, with some implementations having over a
dozen stages. There is a practical limit to how far this trend can be taken, because
with more stages, there is the need for more logic, more interconnections, and
more control signals. With superscalar organization, performance increases can be
achieved by increasing the number of parallel pipelines. Again, there are
diminishing returns as the number of pipelines increases. More logic is required to
manage hazards and to stage instruction resources. Eventually, a single thread of
execution reaches the point where hazards and resource dependencies prevent the
full use of the multiple pipelines available. This same point of diminishing returns
is reached with SMT, as the complexity of managing multiple threads over a set of
pipelines limits the number of threads and number of pipelines that can be
effectively utilized.
Q. Why is there a trend toward giving and increasing fraction of chip area to
cache memory?
18.3 Cache memory uses less power than logic .
Q. List some examples of applications that benefit directly from the ability to
scale throughput with the number of cores?
18.4 Multi-threaded native applications: Multi-threaded applications are
characterized by having a small number of highly threaded processes. Examples of
threaded applications include Lotus Domino or Siebel CRM (Customer
Relationship Manager).
Multi-process applications: Multi-process applications are characterized by the

presence of many single-threaded processes. Examples of multi-process

applications include the Oracle database, SAP, and PeopleSoft.
Java applications: Java applications embrace threading in a fundamental way.
Not only does the Java language greatly facilitate multithreaded applications, but
the Java Virtual Machine is a multi-threaded process that provides scheduling and
memory management for Java applications. Java applications that can benefit
directly from multicore resources include application servers such as Suns Java
Application Server, BEAs Weblogic, IBMs Websphere, and the open-source
Tomcat application server. All applications that use a Java 2 Platform, Enterprise
Edition (J2EE platform) application server can immediately benefit from multicore
technology.
Multi-instance applications: Even if an individual application does not scale to
take advantage of a large number of threads, it is still possible to gain from
multicore architecture by running multiple instances of the application in parallel.
If multiple application instances require some degree of isolation, virtualization
technology (for the hardware of the operating system) can be used to provide each
of them with its own separate and secure environment.
Q. At a top level, what are the main design variables in a multi-core organization?
18.5 The number of core processors on the chip
The number of levels of cache memory
The amount of cache memory that is shared
Q. List some advantages of a shared L2 cache among cores compared to
separate dedicated L2 caches for each core?
18.6 1. Constructive interference can reduce overall miss rates. That is, if a thread on
one core accesses a main memory location, this brings the frame containing the
referenced location into the shared cache. If a thread on another core soon
thereafter accesses the same memory block, the memory locations will already be
available in the shared on-chip cache.
2. A related advantage is that data shared by multiple cores is not replicated at the
shared cache level.
3. With proper frame replacement algorithms, the amount of shared cache
allocated to each core is dynamic, so that threads that have a less locality can
employ more cache.
4. Interprocessor communication is easy to implement, via shared memory
locations.
5. The use of a shared L2 cache confines the cache coherency problem to the L1
cache level, which may provide some additional performance advantage.