Computer Architecture

Hamayun khan (PhD Scholar)

Superior University, Lahore
hamayun.khan@superior.edu.pk
CHAPTER # 1
Introduction
WHAT IS COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

 Computer architecture is a set of rules and methods that describe the functionality,
organization, and implementation of computer systems.

 Structure: static arrangement of the parts

 Organization: dynamic interaction of the parts and their control
 Implementation: design of specific building blocks.
 Performance: behavioral study of the system
WHAT IS COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
Major Components
Architecture & Organization

 Computer architecture deals with the design of computers, data storage devices,
and networking components that store and run programs, transmit data, and drive
interactions between computers, across networks, and with users. The memory
stores the program's instructions and data.
 Computer Architecture helps us to understand the functionalities of a system
 While designing a computer system architecture is considered first.
 Architecture involves Logic (Instruction sets, Addressing modes, Data types, Cache
optimization)
Organization

 Computer Organization is concerned with the structure and behaviour of a computer

system as seen by the user.
 It deals with the components of a connection in a system.
 Computer Organization tells us how exactly all the units in the system are arranged and
interconnected.
 An organization is done on the basis of architecture.
 Computer Organization deals with low-level design issues.
 Organization involves Physical Components (Circuit design, Adders, Signals, Peripherals)
Architecture & Organization

 Architecture is those attributes visible to the programmer

 Instruction set,
 number of bits used for data representation,
 I/O mechanisms, addressing techniques

 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?
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 version
Structure & Function

 Structure is the way in which components relate to each other

 Function is the operation of individual components as part of the structure
Function

 All computer functions are:

 Data processing
 Data storage
 Data movement
 Control
Functional View
Operations - Data movement
Operations - Storage
Operation - Processing from/to storage
Operation - Processing from storage to I/O
 Structure - Top Level
Peripherals Computer

Central
Processing Main
Unit Memory

Computer Systems
Interconnection

Input
Output
Communication
lines
 Structure - The CPU
CPU

Computer Arithmetic
and
Registers
I/O Login Unit

System CPU
Bus
Internal CPU
Memory Interconnection

Control
Unit
 Structure - The Control Unit

Control Unit

CPU
Sequencing
ALU Logic
Control
Internal
Unit
Bus
Control Unit
Registers Registers and
Decoders

Control
Memory
Processor OR Central Processing Unit
Introduction to Central Processing Unit

 A processor or Central Processing Unit (CPU) is an electronic circuit

that can execute computer programs.
 A processor is the logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic
instructions that drives a computer.
 A computer processor analyzes data and controls data flow in a
computer.
 It handles the central management functions of a high-powered PC.
image of
processor
Working of processor
The working of processor mainly consist
four steps i.e.
Fetch, Decode, Execute and Write back. These steps
are discussed below
:

• Fetch : During the fetch step, the processor

retrieves program instructions from memory.
• Decode : In this step, the instruction is broken
down into parts.
• Execute : In the execute step, CPU performs
the operation implied by the program
instructions.
• Write back : During the write back step, the
Processor writes back the results of execution, to
the computer's memory.
 Basic knowledge about processor

Clock speed : Clock speed Hyper threading : Thread

is a measure of how quickly are the virtual core and
a computer completes Core : A processor core is work like a real core inside
basic computations and a hardware unit in the cpu.
operations. It is measured processor architecture When cores assembled
as a frequency in hertz. that can execute with multi threads then it is
Generally this speed instructions sent to it. known as Hyper threading
varies 2.4-3.4 GHz. technology.
Cache : The cache is the
first block of RAM which PARALLEL PROCESSING :
MULTI PROCESSING
interact between the The
: Simultaneous
main memory and CPU simultaneous use of
processing with two or
using cache controller more than one cpu or
more processors in one
chip. This memory processor core to
computer or two or more
helps processor to fetch execute a program or
computers processing
instructions in quick multiple computational
together.
routine and is very faster threads
than RAM
Components of CPU
 Registers:
Arithmetic and Logic Control unit : It is very fast temporary
It manages the storage locations which Internal buses:
Unit (ALU) : fetching, decoding and hold data being Buses are used to
It carries out the logical, execution of the transmit informations
instructions. processed, instructions
algebrical or any types from one place to another.
being executed and
calculations.
addresses of the
memory location to be
accessed.
What is single, double and multi
core processors?
Single core: Has one core to process
different operations like intel Pentium.

Dual core : Has two cores to process

operations; able to process more
information at the same time compare to
single core like intel core i3 and i5.

Quad core: Contains two dual core

processors in one integrated circuit and
generally used for multi tasking like intel
core i7.
Image that showing cores,cache memory, I/o
units arrangement inside intel i7 next geneartion
processor
 Some popular brands of
processor
Intel : The Intel computer processor is exclusively
designed by Intel. Its latest and most popular models
include Intel hyper thread technology that speed up
processor speed .

AMD : The AMD computer processor is exclusively made by

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD). It provides excellent
performance and value. It is compatible with most off-the-
shelf computer programs and applications. Some AMD
Computer Processors are programmed with built-in anti-
virus protection
 INTEL Graphics

AMD Graphics
What are the future
expectations/Predictions
about processor ?
 They have high clock
speed like 10 to 15
Tomorrow, processor will be
GHz and have 8 to 10 cores
more energy efficient than
with hyper threading or new
present time.
equivalent
technology.

Their size will be more small

than today’s processors i.e. They will be more cheaper
nano processor will come and reliable than compare
in place of micro processor. to present time.
Level of Representation
System Level Decisions

 Design at CPU, memory and interconnect level

 Important to application performance
 Speeds constrained by
 IC pin count
 Module connector pin count
 Signaling rates
 Application-specific
System Level Decisions

 Driven by
 Cost/performance goals
 Available component technology
 Technology constraints
 Backwards compatibility needs (709-7090-360)
Computer System Performance

 CPU execution time

 FP arithmetic
 Integer arithmetic
 Branches/procedure calls
 Main memory bandwidth
 I/O performance
 Transfer bandwidth
 Latency
 Polygons/pixels per sec.
 Memory
Memory Organization in Computer
Architecture

 A memory unit is the collection of storage units or devices together. The memory unit stores the
binary information in the form of bits. Generally, memory/storage is classified into 2 categories:

 Volatile Memory: This loses its data, when power is switched off.

 Non-Volatile Memory: This is a permanent storage and does not lose any data when power is
switched off.
Memory Hierarchy
 Memory Hierarchy
• The cache memory is used to store program data which is currently being executed in the CPU.
Approximate access time ratio between cache memory and main memory is about 1 to 7~10
Memory Hierarchy
 The total memory capacity of a computer can be visualized by hierarchy of components. The
memory hierarchy system consists of all storage devices contained in a computer system from the
slow Auxiliary Memory to fast Main Memory and to smaller Cache memory.

 Auxiliary memory access time is generally 1000 times that of the main memory, hence it is at the
bottom of the hierarchy.

 The main memory occupies the central position because it is equipped to communicate directly with
the CPU and with auxiliary memory devices through Input/output processor (I/O).

 When the program not residing in main memory is needed by the CPU, they are brought in from
auxiliary memory. Programs not currently needed in main memory are transferred into auxiliary
memory to provide space in main memory for other programs that are currently in use.
Memory Access Methods
 Each memory type, is a collection of numerous memory locations. To access data from any memory,
first it must be located and then the data is read from the memory location. Following are the
methods to access information from memory locations:

 Random Access: Main memories are random access memories, in which each memory location has
a unique address. Using this unique address any memory location can be reached in the same
amount of time in any order.

 Sequential Access: This methods allows memory access in a

 sequence or in order.

 Direct Access: In this mode, information is stored in tracks, with each track having a separate
read/write head.
Main Memory
 The memory unit that communicates directly within the CPU, Auxiliary memory and Cache
memory, is called main memory. It is the central storage unit of the computer system. It is a large
and fast memory used to store data during computer operations. Main memory is made up of RAM
and ROM, with RAM integrated circuit chips holing the major share.

 RAM: Random Access Memory

 DRAM: Dynamic RAM, is made of capacitors and transistors, and must be refreshed every 10~100
ms. It is slower and cheaper than SRAM.

 SRAM: Static RAM, has a six transistor circuit in each cell and retains data, until powered off.

 NVRAM: Non-Volatile RAM, retains its data, even when turned off. Example: Flash memory.
Main Memory
ROM: Read Only Memory:
 ROM: Read Only Memory, is non-volatile and is more like a permanent storage for information. It
also stores the bootstrap loader program, to load and start the operating system when computer is
turned on. PROM(Programmable ROM), EPROM(Erasable PROM) and EEPROM(Electrically
Erasable PROM) are some commonly used ROMs.
Auxiliary Memory
• Devices that provide backup storage are called auxiliary memory. For example: Magnetic disks and tapes
are commonly used auxiliary devices. Other devices used as auxiliary memory are magnetic drums,
magnetic bubble memory and optical disks.

• It is not directly accessible to the CPU, and is accessed using the

Input / Output channels.
Cache Memory
• The data or contents of the main memory that are used again and again by CPU, are stored in the cache
memory so that we can easily access that data in shorter time.

• Whenever the CPU needs to access memory, it first checks the cache memory. If the data is not found in
cache memory then the CPU moves onto the main memory. It also transfers block of recent data into the
cache and keeps on deleting the old data in cache to accommodate the new one.
Hit Ratio
• The performance of cache memory is measured in terms of a quantity called hit ratio. When the CPU
refers to memory and finds the word in cache it is said to produce a hit. If the word is not found in cache,
it is in main memory then it counts as a miss.

• The ratio of the number of hits to the total

CPU references to
• memory is called hit ratio.

• Hit Ratio = Hit/(Hit + Miss)

Associative Memory
• It is also known as content addressable memory (CAM). It is a memory chip in which each bit position can
be compared. In this the content is compared in each bit cell which allows very fast table lookup. Since
the entire chip can be compared, contents are randomly stored without considering addressing scheme.
These chips have less storage capacity than regular memory chips.
 INPUT & OUTPUT DEVICES
Input Devices

 The data or instructions you type into the computer are called input
 Input devices used to get data into a system.
 Get data into a system as accurately, least amount of time.
 It’s a cheap device.
Examples of Input Devices

 Keyboard • Mouse • Tracker ball • Touch sensitive pad • Joystick • Light pen • Touch
screen • Graphics tablets • Magnetic Strip Reader • Bar Code reader • Digital cameras •
Web Cameras • OCR • MICR • OMR • Punched Card • Kimball tag • Voice recognition •
Microphone • EPOS • EFTPOS • Video digitiser • Scanner • Touch Phone Telephone
Output Device

 Output device provide results in a suitable form after data processing.

 Output devices are used to get data out of a system.
 They should be able to do this as accurately and quickly as possible, and with the
minimum of human intervention.
Examples Output Device

 Visual devices (including Visual Display Units [VDUs], screens, and monitors) – Hard
copy devices (including ink jet printer, laser printers, dot-matrix printers, and plotters) –
Sound devices – Computer controlled devices (including robots)
  Extra Notes
 Book Reading Assignment
(Not Included in syllabus)
THE DISCIPLINE OF COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE HAS THREE
MAIN SUBCATEGORIES

 1. Instruction Set Architecture , or ISA. The ISA defines the machine code that a
processor reads and acts upon as well as the word size , memory address modes , processor
registers , and data type .
 2. Micro architecture , or computer organization describes how a particular processor
will implement the ISA.[14] The size of a computer's CPU cache for instance, is an issue
that generally has nothing to do with the ISA.
 3. System Design includes all of the other hardware components within a computing
system. These include:
 a. Data processing other than the CPU, such as direct memory access (DMA)
 b. Other issues such as virtualization
INSTRUCTION SET ARCHITECTURE

An instruction set architecture (ISA) is the interface between the computer's software and
hardware and also can be viewed as the programmer's view of the machine. Computers do
not understand high-level programming languages such as Java, C++, or most
programming languages used. A processor only understands instructions encoded in some
numerical fashion, usually as binary numbers . Software tools, such as compilers ,
translate those high level languages into instructions that the processor can understand.
ISAs vary in quality and completeness. A good ISA compromises between programmer
convenience (how easy the code is to understand), size of the code (how much code is
required to do a specific action), cost of the computer to interpret the instructions (more
complexity means more hardware needed to decode and execute the instructions), and
speed of the computer (with more complex decoding hardware comes longer decode time).
Memory organization defines how instructions interact with the memory, and how memory
interacts with itself.
COMPUTER ORGANIZATION

 Computer organization helps optimize performance- based products. For example,

software engineers need to know the processing power of processors. They may need to
optimize software in order to gain the most performance for the lowest price. This can
require quite detailed analysis of the computer's organization. For example, in a SD card,
the designers might need to arrange the card so that the most data can be processed in the
fastest possible way.
 Computer organization also helps plan the selection of a processor for a particular project.
Multimedia projects may need very rapid data access, while virtual machines may need
fast interrupts. Sometimes certain tasks need additional components as well. For example,
a computer capable of running a virtual machine needs virtual memory hardware so that
the memory of different virtual computers can be kept
IMPLEMENTATION

 Once an instruction set and micro-architecture are designed, a practical machine must be
developed. This design process is called the implementation . Implementation is usually
not considered architectural design, but rather hardware design engineering .
Implementation can be further broken down into several steps:
 • Logic Implementation designs the circuits required at a logic gate level Circuit
Implementation does transistor -level designs of basic elements (gates, multiplexers,
latches etc.) as well as of some larger blocks ( ALUs , caches etc.) that may be
implemented at the log gate level, or even at the physical level if the design calls for it.
 • Physical Implementation draws physical circuits. The different circuit components are
placed in a chip floor plan.
PERFORMANCE •

 Modern computer performance is often described in IPC (instructions per cycle). This
measures the efficiency of the architecture at any clock frequency. Since a faster rate can
make a faster computer, this is a useful measurement. Older computers had IPC counts as
low as 0.1 instructions per cycle. Simple modern processors easily reach near 1.
 Performance is affected by a very wide range of design choices — for example, pipelining
a processor usually makes latency worse, but makes throughput better. Computers that
control machinery usually need low interrupt latencies. These computers operate in a real-
time environment and fail if an operation is not completed in a specified amount of time.
For example, computer-controlled anti-lock brakes must begin braking within a
predictable, short time after the brake pedal is
POWER EFFICIENCY

 Power efficiency is another important measurement in modern computers. A higher power

efficiency can often be traded for lower speed or higher cost. The typical measurement
when referring to power consumption in computer architecture is MIPS/W (millions of
instructions per second per watt).
 Modern circuits have less power required per transistor as the number of transistors per
chip grows. [16] This is because each transistor that is put in a new chip requires its own
power supply and requires new pathways to be built to power it. However the number of
transistors per chip is starting to increase at a slower rate. Therefore, power efficiency is
starting to become as important, if not more important than fitting more and more
transistors into a single chip. Recent processor designs have shown this emphasis as they
put more focus on power efficiency rather than cramming as many .