Hardware Fundamentals
© Copyright Brian Brown, 1992-2000. All rights reserved.

CPU AND MEMORY
The objective of this section is to

• describe the operation of a micro-computer at the functional level
• explain the function of the main components of a computer system
• detail the interaction of a microcomputer's sub-system elements

At the end of this section, you should be able to

• briefly explain how a micro-computer works and executes instructions
• describe the micro-computer sub-system elements

The Computer System
The functional diagram of a typical computer system is shown below,

Fig 4_1: Computer System Block Diagram

The address bus is used by the processor to select a specific memory location within the memory subsystem, or a specific peripheral chip.

The data bus is used to transfer data between the processor and memory subsystem or peripheral devices.

The control bus provides timing signals to synchronise the flow of data between the processor and memory subsystem or peripheral devices.

The Central Processor
The central processor (CPU) is the chip which acts as a control centre for all operations. It executes instructions (a program) which are contained in the memory section.

Basic operations involve

• the transfer of data between itself and the memory section
• manipulation of data in the memory section or stored internally
• the transfer of data between itself and input/output devices

The CPU is said to be the brains of any computer system. It provides all the timing and control signals necessary to transfer data from one point to another in the system.

Programs: Instructions and Operand's
A program consists of a number of CPU instructions. Each instruction consists of

• an instruction code
• one or more operand's (data which the instruction manipulates)

The instruction code specifies to the CPU what to do, where the data is located, and where the output data (if any) will be put.

Instructions are held in the memory section of the computer system. Instructions are transferred one at a time into the CPU, where they are decoded then executed. Instructions follow each other in successive memory locations.

Fig 4_2: Program Instructions

Memory locations are numbered sequentially. The processor unit keeps track of the instruction it is executing by using a internal counter. This counter holds the location in memory of the instruction it is executing. Its name is the program counter (sometimes called instruction pointer).

Stored Program Control
Most computer systems today are stored program control systems. This means that the processor executes instructions which are stored in a memory subsystem. SPC systems are popular, because the processor does is simply changed by altering the instruction in the memory system. This makes for a general purpose computer system, capable of performing a wide variety of different tasks dependant upon the stored program contents.

Computer Memory
Memory contains data or instructions for the processor to execute. All memory has common features.

• Address Locations
  Memory consists of a sequential number of locations, each of which are a specific number of bits wide.
  
  
  • byte wide memory 8 bits (PC-8088)
  • word wide 16 bits (XT-8086, AT-80286)
  • double word 32 bits (386DX, 486SX, 486DX)
  • quad word 64 bits (pentium)
    
    The more number of bits per location affects the speed at which data can be moved from one location to another in a computer system. In general, the more bits per location the faster data can be transferred.

    Each memory location is referred to as an address, and generally expressed in hexadecimal notation (using base 16 numbers).

    The processor selects a specific address in memory by placing the address on a special multi-bit bus called the address bus . The value on this address bus is used by the memory system to find the specific location within the chip which the processor is requiring access to.

    The total number of address locations which can be accessed by the processor is known as its physical address space. How large this is determined by the size of the address bus, and is often expressed in terms of Kilobytes (x1024) or Megabytes.

  • 16 bits address bus = 64K (65536 locations)
  • 20 bits address bus = 1MB (IBM PC)
  • 32 bits address bus = 4GB (486DX)
  • 
    
    
• Access Times
  Access time refers to how long it takes the processor to read or write to a specific memory location within a chip. The limiting factor is the type of technology used to implement the memory cells inside the chip.
  
  
• Volatility
  This refers to whether or not the contents of the memory is lost when power is turned off. If the contents are lost, the memory is volatile. If the contents are retained, then the memory is non-volatile.

Types of Computer Memory
System memory consists of two main types.

• ROM (Read Only Memory)
  This form of memory contains programs which do not change. Examples of these are routines which initialise the computer system hardware when power is turned on.

  ROM is non-volatile. This means the contents do not disappear when the power to the system is turned off.

  EPROM is a special type of ROM which can be programmed by the user. Its contents can also be erased by exposing it to ultra-violet light.

  EEPROM is another special type of ROM which can be programmed by the user. It contents are erased by applying a specific voltage to one of its input pins whilst providing the appropriate timing signals.

• RAM (Random Access Memory)
  This form of memory is used to store data and application programs. The memory is read-write, and volatile. This means the contents disappear when the power to the system is turned off. There are TWO main types of RAM used in computer systems today,
  
  
  • Dynamic
    This memory is based on capacitor technology, and requires the contents of each storage cell within the chip to be periodically refreshed (about every 4ms). It consumes very little power, but suffers from slow access times. Another advantage is the large capacity offered by this technology per chip (16Mbit).
    
    
  • Static
    This memory is based on transistor technology, and does not require refreshing. It consumes more power (thus generates more heat) than the dynamic type, and is significantly faster. It is often used in high speed computers or as cache memory. Another disadvantage is that the technology uses more silicon space per storage cell than dynamic memory, thus chip capacities are a lot less than dynamic chips.

Cache Memory
Cache memory is high speed memory which interfaces between the processor and the system memory. Dynamic memory is used to implement large memory systems in modern computers. This is due to features like low power consumption, high chip densities and low cost.

Fig 4_3: Cache Memory

Dynamic memory is however slow, and cannot keep up with modern fast processors. When a processor requests data from a memory chip, it expects to receive that data within a specific time. This is expressed as a number of clock cycles.

It is common for processors to run what is called a FOUR STAGE BUS CYCLE (which is four processor clocks long). Essentially, during the first processor clock cycle, the address is placed on the address bus. the second processor clock cycle is used to latch the address internally within the memory chip. The third processor clock cycle is used by the chip to find the data and place it on the data bus. The fourth processor clock cycle is used by the processor to latch the data on the data bus into its own internal hold register.

Dynamic memory is currently too slow to keep up with processors running at clock rates of 50MHz or greater (each cycle is 20ns). To use dynamic memory with fast processors requires extending the third processor clock cycle by another (or multiples thereof) processor clock cycle. The name for this extra processor clock cycle is called a wait state. What this does is change a four stage bus cycle into a five stage bus cycle (or greater), meaning that the fast processor is actually running just as fast as a slower processor (its being slowed down by the memory subsystem, whenever it accesses memory).

It is too expensive to use static memory in place of dynamic memory. To use slow dynamic memory with a fast processor requires an extra hardware subsystem (called cache memory) which fits between the processor and the memory subsystem.

All memory accesses by the processor are fed through the cache system. It comprises an address comparator which monitors the address requests by the processor, high speed static ram, and extra hardware chips.

The cache system starts off by trying to read as much data as possible from the dynamic memory subsystem. It stores this data in its own high speed static memory (or cache). When a processor request arrives, it checks to see if the address request is the same as that which it has already read from the memory sub-system. If it is, it supplies the data directly from its static cache. If the address is not cached, then it lets the processor access the main memory system directly (but the processor does this slower). The cache system then updates its own address counter it uses to read from system memory to that of the processors, and tries to read as much data as possible before the next processor request arrives.

When the cache system can respond to the processor request, its called a cache hit. If the cache system cannot service the processor request, its called a cache miss.

Input/Output Bus
The IO bus is the interconnection path between the processor and input/output devices (including memory). The bus is divided into THREE main sections

• Address
  The address bus is used by the processor to select a specific memory location. This memory location may be in the memory subsystem (either RAM or ROM), or a peripheral device. The address bus is one way only (unidirectional).
  
  
• Data
  The data bus is used to transfer data between the processor and memory or peripheral devices. The data bus is two-way (read/write, bi-directional).
  
  
• Control
  The control bus is like the traffic signals. It provides timing, clock, and directional signals for each operation. Most of these signals are generated by the processor, as the processor generally controls the read or write operation.

In more complex systems, the memory subsystem or peripheral devices also provide timing signals to complete data transfers, or initiate requests that the processor responds to (called interrupts).

Input/Output Peripheral Devices
Peripheral devices allow input and output to occur. Examples of peripheral devices are

• disk drive controllers
• keyboards
• mice
• video cards
• parallel and serial cards
• real-time clocks

The processor is involved in the initialisation and servicing of these peripheral devices.

Input/Output Processors
An input output processor is a special processor dedicated to handling peripheral devices like terminals, tape and disk units, and printers.

Mainframe systems like the IBM 370 use I/O processors to off load work from the system processor. This lets the system processor get more work done executing user programs without having to worry about handling data input and output to terminals or printing documents.

The PC has an I/O processor in the keyboard, which handles the complex operations of scanning the keys.

In addition, it is now becoming common to have I/O processors on graphics cards. The S3 graphics card is a good example of this, which supports hardware support for scrolling, sizing and moving windows. This removes these tasks from the system processor, and performs them at a much higher rate (up to 30 times faster).

IO CHANNEL COPROCESSOR (IBM)
To allow concurrent operation of the CPU and I/O devices requires the use of a special I/O processor. The main CPU instructs the I/O processor to perform the required data transfer. When the transfer is completed, the I/O processor informs the main processor of the status of the operation.

This method frees the main processor to perform other tasks whilst I/O is being done (tasks requesting I/O are blocked by the OS and thus not scheduled for processor time).

Typical features of an I/O channel processor system are

• data transfer between main memory and peripherals
• have priority access to main memory
• operate in byte, word or burst mode
• use direct memory access techniques
• transfer data at rates > 1Mbps

There are two main types of IO channels

• selector
• multiplexor

Both channels support a number of devices on a bus called a sub-channel.

The selector channel operates in burst mode only. It handles a single sub-channel at a time, and has very high transfer rates. Typically, it controls high speed disk units.

The multiplexor channel handles more than one sub-channel at a time by interleaving requests. It operates in byte and word mode, but does support burst at a much lower rate than a selector channel. Typically, it handles devices like printers and character terminals.

Channel Operation
The processor initiates an I/O transfer by setting up a special IOC program in main memory. It then issues a STARTIO instruction, which identifies the channel and sub-channel.

The channel then accesses and runs the channel program (the address of which is in location 72). When finished, the channel updates the IO flag in the processors status register to signal command completion. The processor then checks the channel status register for results.

Each channel gets informed of

• subchannel number
• number of bytes to transfer
• direction of transfer
• where in memory the data or buffer is located
• mode of transfer (burst, byte or word)

Fig 4_4: IBM Channel Operation

The Central Processor Revisited
We shall now take a closer look at how the processor functions internally.

The Fetch, Decode, Execute Cycle
Most modern processors work on the fetch, decode, execute principle. This is also called the Von Nuemen Architecture. The execution of an instruction by a processor is split into THREE distinct phases, Fetch, Decode, and Execute.

• Fetch Cycle
  In the first phase, the processor generates the necessary timing signals to fetch the next instruction from the memory system. The instruction is transferred from memory to an internal location inside the processor (the instruction register).

  
  Fig 4_5: Fetch Cycle, reading the instruction

  In the above image, the processor is ready to begin the Fetch cycle. The current contents of the instruction counter is address 0100. This value is placed on the address bus, and a READ signal is activated on the control bus. The memory receives this and finds the contents of the memory location 0100, which happens to be the instruction MOV AX, 0.

  The memory places the instruction on the Data Bus, and the processor then copies the instruction from the Data Bus to the Instruction Register.

• Decode Cycle
  The instruction is decoded by the processor. During this cycle, the processor, if required by the instruction, will get any operand's required by the instruction. For instance, the instruction MOV AX, 0 sets the value of the AX register of the processor to the constant value 0. The processor has the instruction (MOV AX), but now needs the constant value 0 to complete the instruction before executing it. In this instance, the processor will fetch the constant value 0 from the next location in memory (it is found immediately after the instruction, in the next memory location 0101).

  
  Fig 4_6: Decode cycle, decoding the instruction

  In the above image, the processor transfers the instruction from the instruction register to the Decode Unit. It compares the instruction to an internal table, and when a match is found, the table contains the list of macro instructions (a number of steps) which are required to perform the instruction. In our case, the instruction means place the value 0 into the AX register. The decode unit now has all the details of how to do this.

• Execute Cycle
  In the last phase, the processor executes the instruction. In the example above, this involves setting the contents of the internal register AX to the constant value 0.

  
  Fig 4_7: Execute cycle, executing the instruction

  In the above image, the processor executes the series of macro instructions related to the instruction MOV AX,0. The final part is to adjust the Instruction Counter to point to the next instruction to be executed, which is found at address 0102.

Graphical Animation of Instruction Fetch
The following graphic animation illustrates typical operation of an instruction by the processor. It places the contents of the instruction pointer onto the address bus and fetches the instruction. Once decoded, the instruction is executed and the instruction pointer altered to point to the next instruction.

Fig 4_8: Animation of Instruction Fetch

We shall now look at the internal operation of the CPU, and how it performs the fetch, decode, execute cycle. Internally, the CPU is made up of a number of discrete sections.

• Arithmetic Logic Unit
  The ALU performs arithmetic calculations. Typical operations performed by the ALU are
  • add
  • subtract
  • negate
  • divide
  • shift/rotate
  • multiply

  
  The ALU normally works on two numbers at a time. Often, one of the numbers is found in an internal location of the processor, whilst the other is a constant or found in the memory system. The reason for most arithmetic and logic operations using operand's which are located inside the processor is speed. This is due to not having to perform a fetch cycle for transferring the operand from the memory system to an internal hold point (called latch) in order to execute the instruction.

  The purpose of the ALU is to perform arithmetic and logic operations .

• Instruction Pointer/Program Counter
  As discussed earlier, the processor uses an internal counter to keep track of the instruction it is executing from the system memory. The contents of the counter is the location of where the instruction is found (its address number).

  During the fetch cycle, the processor places the contents of this counter on the address bus. A read signal is issued on the control bus, then timing signals are generated to transfer (copy) the instruction from the memory location in system memory to an internal hold latch inside the processor (called the instruction register).

  During the decode cycle, the instruction counter is adjusted to point to the next instruction to be executed from system memory (calculated from the current instruction).

  The purpose of the instruction pointer is to hold the address of the instruction the processor is about to execute from system memory.

• Instruction Register/Decoder
  Once the instruction has been copied from system memory to the instruction register inside the processor, the decode cycle starts. The instruction is decoded. This means that the processor figures out precisely the sequence of operations (both internal and external) that must be performed next.

  The decoded instruction might look like

  • move the A register contents to the ALU
  • left shift the ALU three times
  • move the contents of the ALU to the A register
  • add one to the instruction pointer register

  The purpose of the instruction register is to hold a copy of the instruction which the processor is about to execute.

• Register Banks
  To provide for the temporary storage of variables or results, most (if not all) processors provide a number of internal hold latches called registers. The number of registers can range from 1 to several hundred, depending upon the architecture of the processor.

  The reason why internal register banks (a group of registers) are used is speed. Data inside the processor is manipulated significantly faster than data external to the processor (ie, located in system memory). This is because of the time required to fetch the data from system memory and transfer it into an internal hold latch before it can be manipulated.

  For instance, to multiply the contents of a memory location by 2, the processor needs to first read the memory location value to an internal register, transfer it to the accumulator, multiply it by 2, then write the ALU contents back to the memory location. The two memory cycles consume time.

  In contrast, to multiply an internal register by 2 requires no external system memory access, and the lack of this overhead means that instructions of this type execute faster than those which make external references to system memory.

  The purpose of internal processor register banks is to provide temporary storage for variables and calculations.

The Programming Model of a CPU
The programming model of a processor defines the registers within the processor which are visible and programmable by the user.

These include

• general purpose registers
• flag (condition code or status) register
• program counter or instruction pointer
• stack register

Executing a program: An example
Lets consider the operation of the following program at the processor level.

	Assembler	High Level Language
	MOV AX, #1 	A := 1;
	MOV BX, #2 	B := 2;
	ADD AX, BX 	C := A + B;
	PUSH AX 	Writeln( C );
	CALL WRITELN

Assume that the instruction pointer contains the address of the first instruction.

1. Place the address of the instruction (IP) on the address bus
2. Read the value from that location into the instruction register.
3. Decode the instruction (Mov AX, #1), increment the instruction pointer
4. Read the operand from the next location and transfer it into the AX register
5. Place the address of the instruction (IP) on the address bus
6. Read the value from that location into the instruction register.
7. Decode the instruction (Mov BX, #2), increment the instruction pointer
8. Read the operand from the next location and transfer it into the BX register
9. Place the address of the instruction (IP) on the address bus
10. Read the value from that location into the instruction register.
11. Decode the instruction (Add AX,BX), increment the instruction pointer
12. Transfer BX to the ALU, and add with AX. Move the result back into AX
13. Place the address of the instruction (IP) on the address bus
14. Read the value from that location into the instruction register.
15. Decode the instruction (Push AX), increment the instruction pointer
16. Put the value of the stack pointer on the address bus
17. Write the value of AX to that location
18. Increment the stack pointer register value
19. Place the address of the instruction (IP) on the address bus
20. Read the value from that location into the instruction register.
21. Decode the instruction (Call WRITELN), increment the instruction pointer
22. Read the operands from the next two locations into an internal hold register
23. Transfer the operands into the instruction pointer.

Base Units
The computer base unit houses the CPU, memory, floppy disk, hard disk drive, power supply unit, and peripheral cards which support printers and modems.

Fig 4_9: Computer Base Unit

The expansion slots are used to plug in additional peripheral cards like sound cards, TV Tuners cards, video capture cards etc. The two main types of expansion slots are PCI and ISA.

Summary
Most modern Processors work on three cycles, fetch, decode and execute.

Processors use internal temporary storage areas for holding data, these are referred to as registers.

The set of registers which programmers can alter is referred to as the programming model.

The Arithmetic Logic Unit handles mathematical operations like add, subtract, multiply, divide, shift and rotate.

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© Copyright Brian Brown, 1992-2000. All rights reserved.