CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

The Architecture of the computer is the physical arrangement of the parts of the computer system, the
principal features of these components (CPU, Registers, Buses e.t.c.) and how they are connected
together. It focuses on the way by which the central processing unit (CPU) performs internally and how
it accesses memory.

Computer architecture comprises at least three main subcategories:

 Instruction Set Architecture, or ISA, is the abstract image of a computing system that is seen by
a machine language (or assembly language) programmer. This includes the instruction set, word
size, memory addressing modes, processor registers, and address and data formats.

 Micro architecture, also known as Computer organization is description of the system. It involves
how the constituent parts of the system are interconnected and how they interoperate in order to
implement the ISA.

 System Design includes all of the other hardware components within a computing system such
as:
 computer buses and switches
 memory controllers and hierarchies
 CPU off-load mechanisms such as direct memory access
 multi-processing
 etc.

BASIC COMPUTER FUNCTIONS

A computer basically performs five major operations or functions irrespective of their size and make.
These are:
 Input data
 Store data
 Process
 Outputting
 Controlling

Input Unit
 It accept (or reads) the instructions and data from the outside world.
 It converts these instructions and data in computer acceptable form.
 It supplies the converted instructions and data to the computer system for further processing.

Output Unit
 It accepts the results produced by the computer, which are in code from and hence cannot be easily
understood by us.
 It converts these coded results to human acceptable (readable) form.
 It supplies the converted results to the outside world.

Storage Unit
 All data and instructions are stored here before and after processing.
 Intermediate results of processing are also stored here.

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

It consists of the ALU and the CU.

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The Control Unit
It ensures that things are done in proper fashion. It determines the sequence in which computer
programs and instructions are executed.
 It directs the flow of information into the CPU and/or memory or storage.
 It controls which instructions the CPU will do next

Arithmetic Logical Unit (ALU)

 does all of the mathematics in a computer
 does all of the logic comparisons of values

THE COMPUTER COMPONENTS

1. Central Processing Unit (CPU)
2. Computer Memory (RAM and ROM)
3. System Bus
4. Ports (Interfaces)
5. Motherboard
6. I/O Subsystem

The microprocessor
 Decode the instructions and use them to control the activities within the system
 It also performs the arithmetic( + , -, /, *) and logical (>,>=,<,<=, =, =!) computations.

Memory
 Stores both data and instructions that are currently being used. Memory is broken down into
modules where each module contains several thousand locations.
 Each location is associated with an identifier called a memory address.

The I/O Sub System

It consists of
 I/O Devices for communicating with the external. Input devices include include punched card
readers, magnetic floppy disk readers, video terminals, mouse and keyboards, scanners,

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 joystick, tracker ball, light pen, touch screen etc. Special purpose units magnetic ink characters,
optical mark readers, optical character readers and bar code readers.
Output devices include printers, monitors, plotters, Voice Output devices, Modems etc.

 Mass Storage Devices (Secondary memory) for storing large quantities of information. These
include hard disks, floppy disks, CD’s, DVD’s, magnetic tapes, jazz disks, zip disks, pen drives
etc.

N.B. Although both programs and data can be stored on mass storage devices they must be transferred
to primary memory (RAM) first before they are used.

System Bus.
A set of conductors that connect the CPU to its memory and I/O devices. The memory bus: carries
memory addresses and data to and from the system RAM. The memory bus in most PCs is also shared
with the processor bus, connecting the system memory to the processor and the system chipset. The
memory bus is part of the PC's hierarchy of buses, which are high-speed communications channels
used within the computer to transfer information between its components.
The memory bus is made up of three parts:
 Data bus: carries actual memory data and instructions
 Address bus: selects the memory address that the data will come from or go to on a read or write.
 Control bus: To regulate the activities on the bus

The I/O bus

It facilitates communication between CPU and all the interface units.
I/O bus is of two types:
 Isolated I/O:
 Separate I/O read/write control lines
 Separate (isolated) memory and I/O address spaces
 Distinct input and output instructions

 Memory-mapped I/O
 A single set of read/write control lines (no distinction between memory and I/O transfer)
 Memory and I/O addresses share the common address space which reduces memory address
range available
 No specific input or output instruction, as a result the same memory reference instructions can
be used for I/O transfers
 Considerable flexibility in handling I/O operations

Interface (Ports)
Circuitry needed to connect the bus to a device. It matches the electrical characteristics of the device to
those of the bus.
The Memory interfaces are incorporated within the memory’s control activity. consist of logic
 Needed to decode the address of the memory location being accessed.
 Buffer data onto/off the bus.
 Contain circuitry to perform memory reads or write.
I/O interfaces must
 Buffer data onto/off the system bus
 Receive commands from the CPU
 Transmit information from their devices to the CPU.
Types of Ports (Interfaces)
i. Serial Ports: They are 9-pin connectors that relay information, incoming or outgoing, one byte at a
time. They are controlled by a special chip called a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver
Transmitter).
ii. Parallel ports- A parallel is a port for connecting an external device such as a printer. The parallel
port has a 25- pin connector e.g. the EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) or ECP (Extended Capabilities
Port) support bi-directional communication and high transfer rates

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iii. PS/2 Port- Connects a mouse or keyboard to a PC. The PS/2 port supports a mini plug containing 6
pins. Most PCs have a PS/2 port so that the serial port can be used by another device, such as a
modem. The PS/2 port is often called the mouse port. The PS/2 name is come
iv. V.G.A card port-Video Graphics Array has 15 pins. It is use to connect computer monitor.
v. Sound Card Port- Used to connect speakers, microphones, head phones, sub hoofers etc.
vi. USB Port: USB is stands for Universal Serial Bus. It connects many peripherals to the computer.
Such as mice, keyboards, PDA’s, game pads and joysticks, scanners, digital cameras, printers,
personal media players, flash drives, and external hard drives.
vii. Network Port: Also known as LAN port or Ethernet port.
Bus Control Unit
It is the interface of the CPU to the system bus which regulates the bus activities.

Mother Board
Typically, the motherboard contains the CPU, memory, mass storage interfaces, BIOS, serial and
parallel ports, expansion slots, and all the controllers required to control standard peripheral devices,
such as the display screen, keyboard, and disk drive. Collectively, all these chips that reside on the
motherboard are known as the motherboard’s chipset.

Two arrangements of these components can be described:

(i) The single bus / processor architecture which has only one processing element and all the
other components are connected to a single link (the System Bus ).

(ii) The Multiprocessing System which has several processing elements surrounded by different
subsystems and a central link (the system bus) connecting the different subsystems together.

The links in
the subsystems are called local buses. Each subsystem can operate as an independent computer but
can take advantage of the shared resources. The shared main memory can be used for passing
information between subsystems and the shared mass storage can be used to store large programs and
large quantities of data that are needed by more than one subsystem.The competition for the shared
resources by the different elements is called contention.

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