Computer Organization & Architecture

Instructor Engr. Zeeshan Raza

Computer Organization & Architecture

 Computer architecture is the conceptual design and

fundamental operational structure of a computer
system. It is a layout and functional description of
requirements and design implementations for the
various parts of a computer
 It may also be defined as the science and art of
selecting and interconnecting hardware
components to create computers that meet
functional, performance and cost goals

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Computer Organization & Architecture

 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, including the instruction
set, memory address modes, processor registers, and
address and data formats.
 Micro architecture also known as Computer organization is a
lower level, more detailed, description of the system that
involves how the constituent parts of the system are
interconnected and how they interoperate in order to
implement the ISA The size of a computer's cache for
instance,

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Computer Organization & Architecture

 System Design which includes all of the other hardware

components within a computing system such as:
 system interconnects such as computer buses and switches
 memory controllers
 CPU off-load mechanisms such as direct memory access
 issues like multi-processing
 Once both ISA and micro architecture have been specified,
the actual device needs to be designed into hardware. This
design process is called implementation. Implementation is
usually not considered architectural definition, but rather
hardware design engineering

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Architecture & Organization 1

 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?

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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

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Function

 All computer functions are:

 Data processing
 Data storage
 Data movement
 Control

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Functional View

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 Structure - Top Level

Peripherals Computer

Central Main
Processing Memory
Unit

Computer
Systems
Interconnection

Input
Output
Communication
lines
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Central Processing Unit (CPU)

 CPU is the main processing unit of Computer

 It control the operation of computer and perform data
processing functions
 Cpu perform calculations take place inside a PC
 The part of a computer that interprets and executes
instructions
 Central Processing Unit) The computing part of the
computer. Also called the "processor," it is made up of the
control unit and ALU. Today, the CPUs of almost all
computers are contained on a single chip

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The Diagram

 Modern processor

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 Memory
storage device
 I/O device
input out put device like keyboard, printer
 System interconnection
the mechanism provide interconnection b/w
component like buses

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Structure - The CPU

CPU

Computer Arithmetic
Registers and
I/O Login Unit
System CPU
Bus
Internal CPU
Memory Interconnection

Control
Unit

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 Control unit
control the operation of CPU
 ALU
arithmetic logic unit perform logical operations
 Register
Provide storage internal to the cpu

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What is a program?

 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
Function of Control Unit

 For each operation a unique code is provided

 e.g. ADD, MOVE
 A hardware segment accepts the code and issues
the control signals
How Control Signals

• The program is sequence of steps

• On each step some logical or arithmatic
operation is performed
• For each step a new set of control signal is
needed
• A unique code for each possible set of
control signals is provided
• It is added to general purpose hardware
that can accept the code and generate
signals
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
Instruction Cycle

 Two steps:
 Fetch
 Execute
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
 Combination of above
Example of Program Execution
Instruction Cycle State Diagram
Interrupts

 Mechanism by which other modules (e.g. I/O) may

interrupt normal sequence of processing
 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
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
Transfer of Control via Interrupts
Instruction Cycle with Interrupts
Program Timing
Short I/O Wait
Instruction Cycle (with Interrupts) - State
Diagram
Multiple Interrupts

 Disable interrupts
 Processor will ignore further interrupts whilst processing
one interrupt
 Interrupts remain pending and are checked after first
interrupt has been processed
 Interrupts handled in sequence as they occur
 Define priorities
 Low priority interrupts can be interrupted by higher
priority interrupts
 When higher priority interrupt has been processed,
processor returns to previous interrupt
Multiple Interrupts - Sequential
Multiple Interrupts – Nested
Time Sequence of Multiple Interrupts