Computer Architecture and

Organization (CS-507/CS-210)
Dr. Assad Latif
CS/IT
ISP. Multan

Lecture 1
Introduction to computer system and its components
 Course Objectives
• To learn the organizational paradigms that
determine the capabilities and performance
of computer systems
• To understand the interactions between the
computer’s architecture and its software so
that compiler writers, operating system
designers, database programmers can
achieve the best cost-performance trade-offs
• Understand the effects of the design choices
on software applications
 Course Outcomes
At the end of the course the students will be
able to:
• understand the basics of computer hardware
and how software interacts with computer
hardware
• analyze and evaluate computer performance
• understand how computers represent and
manipulate data
• understand computer arithmetic and convert
between different number systems
 Reference Material

• Computer Organization and Architecture 8e by William Stallings

• Computer Organization And Design The hardware and software

interface by David A Patterson and John L Hennessy 5th Edition
2014

• The intel microprocessor Barry B Brey 8th edition

Download Link:
https://zeeshanaliatisp.wordpress.com/
 Teaching Style and Philosophy
• My role is to
– Facilitate and guide the students to the
fundamental concepts
– Make it simple and elaborate with examples
– Relate as much as possible to available products
– Prepare class notes to be as rich and
comprehensive as possible

• Your role is to
– Focus on understanding and digesting the
 Motivation
• Computer systems are responsible of 10-15%
of the gross product of the world

• WWW, ATM, Cashless society, anywhere

computing, DNA mapping, Quantum
computing, … are among the applications that
were economically infeasible and recently
have become practical
• Wearable networks, implanted computers,
 Topics to be discussed
• Introduction to Computer system • Cache management, types and
and its components work principle.
• X86-X64 processors historical • Interrupt management and
overview. interrupt handling
• Instruction set designs, CISC, RISC • Instruction execution cycle, Role
and VLIW of interrupt in normal execution.
• Instruction formats, Addressing • I/O structures and performance
modes balancing using i/o module.
• Control structures and • Parallel processing. Principle of
microprograming pipelining of instruction and
• Memory management and hazards in pipelining.
components of memory • Multiprogramming and hyper
• Memory addressing techniques threading parallelism
• Multiprocessor systems.
 Today’s Agenda
• Introduction to Computer Architecture.
• Fundamentals of Computer Design
• Performance Measurements.
 ORGANIZATION AND ARCHITECTURE

 Computer architecture refers to those attributes of a system

visible to a programmer or, put another way, those attributes that
have a direct impact on the logical execution of a program.

 Computer organization refers to the operational units and their

interconnections that realize the architectural specifications.
Continue….
 Examples.. architectural attributes include
instruction
of set, the number of the
bits used to represent
various data types (e.g., numbers, characters), I/O
mechanisms, and techniques for addressing memory.

 Organizational attributes include those hardware details

transparent to the programmer, such as control signals;
interfaces between the computer and peripherals; and
the memory technology used.
 Continue…
 For example, it is an architectural design issue whether
a computer will have a multiply instruction. It is an
organizational issue whether that instruction will be
implemented by a special multiply unit or by a
mechanism that makes repeated use of the add unit of
the system

 In a class of computers called microcomputers, the

relationship between architecture and organization is
very close. Changes in technology not only influence
organization but also result in the introduction of more
powerful and more complex architectures.
 Computer Architecture - Definition
• Computer Architecture = ISA + MO

• Instruction Set Architecture

– What the executable can “see” as underlying hardware
– Logical View

• Machine Organization
– How the hardware implements ISA ?
– Physical View
Computer Architecture – Changing
Definition
• 1950s to 1960s: Computer Architecture Course:
• Computer Arithmetic

• 1970s to mid 1980s: Computer Architecture Course:

• Instruction Set Design, especially ISA appropriate for compilers

• 1990s: Computer Architecture Course:

• Design of CPU, memory system, I/O system,
Multiprocessors, Networks

• 2000s: Computer Architecture Course:

• Non Von-Neumann architectures, Reconfiguration

• Today’s: DNA Computing, Quantum Computing ????

 “What” is Computer Architecture ?

Application
Operating
System
Compiler Firmware
Instruction Set
Architecture
Instr. Set Proc. I/O system
Datapath & Control
Digital Design
Circuit Design
Layout

• Coordination of many levels of abstraction

• Under a rapidly changing set of forces
• Design, Measurement, and Evaluation
 ISA: Critical Interface

software

instruction set

hardware
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
 Structure: The way in the components
interrelated which are

 Function: The operation of each individual component as

part of the structure

 The computer system will be described from the top down.

We begin with the major components of a computer,
describing their structure and function, and proceed to
successively lower layers of the hierarchy.
Continue……
Continue…
 Above figure depicts the basic functions that a computer can
perform. In general terms, there are only four:

 Data processing
 Data storage
 Data movement
 Control
Structural units
 Top-Level Structure of
computer:
 Continue…
 But in general term there four structural units of computer which are:
 Central processing unit (CPU): Controls the operation of the computer and
performs its data processing functions; often simply referred to as
processor.
 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. A 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.
Continue…
 The most complex unit/component is CPU
 Internal units/components of CPU are:
 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
 Factors affecting ISA ???
Technology Programming
Languages

Applications
Computer Cleverness
Architecture

Operating
Systems
History
 Impact of changing ISA
• Early 1990’s Apple switched instruction set
architecture of the Macintosh
– From Motorola 68000-based machines
– To PowerPC architecture

• Intel 80x86 Family: many implementations of

same architecture
– program written in 1978 for 8086 can be run on
latest Pentium chip
 The Big Picture

Processor
Input
Control
Memory

Datapath
Output

Since 1946 all computers have had 5 components!!!

The Role of Performance
 Performance Metrics
• Response Time
– Delay between start end end time of a task

• Throughput
– Numbers of tasks per given time

• New: Power/Energy
– Energy per task, power
 Examples
(Throughput/Performance)

• Replace the processor with a faster version?

– 3.8 GHz instead of 3.2 GHz

• Add an additional processor to a system?

– Core Duo instead of P4
 Measuring Performance
• Wall-clock time –or- Total Execution Time

• CPU Time
– User Time
– System Time
 Relating the Metrics
• Performance = 1/Execution Time

• CPU Execution Time = CPU clock cycles for

program x Clock cycle time

• CPU clock cycles = Instructions for a program x

Average clock cycles per Instruction
 Technology Trends
In reality:

Big Fish Eating Little Fish

 Technology Trends
1988 Computer Food Chain

Mainframe

Work- PC
Mini- Mini-
Supercomputer station
supercomputer computer

Massively
Parallel
Processors
 Technology Trends

Mini- Mini-
supercomputer computer
Clusters

1998 Computer Food Chain

Mainframe
Work- PC
Server station
Now who is eating whom?
Supercomputer
Any Quarry
???
Thank You