single bus architecture

Bus architecture uses common data signaling paths for multiple devices, rather than have separate connections between each set of devices that need to communicate.

For example, a data bus can be used for data to and from dynamic RAM, to and from mass storage, and to and from peripheral devices, rather than having one set of wires from the CPU for memory, another set for I/O, and so forth.

There is often a mechanism for devices to signal when they need to use the bus, while it is in use, and what is the nature of the use (data/instructions/controls/etc).

Bus control can become quite complicated when numerous asynchronous processes are attempting to share the bus efficiently.

Difference between microprocessor and micro controller

A microcontroller is a specialized form of microprocessor that is designed to be self-sufficient and cost-effective, where a microprocessor is typically designed to be general purpose (the kind used in a PC). Microcontrollers are frequently found in automobiles, office machines, toys, and appliances.The microcontroller is the integration of a number of useful functions into a single IC package. 

These functions are:

The ability to execute a stored set of instructions to carry out user defined tasks.

The ability to be able to access external memory chips to both read and write data from and to the memory.

Basically, a microcontroller is a device which integrates a number of the components of a microprocessor system onto a single microchip. So a microcontroller combines onto the same microchip :

The CPU core Memory (both ROM and RAM)

Some parallel digital I/O

Microcontroller incorporates features of microprocessor(CPU,ALU,Registers)along with the presence of added features like presence of RAM,ROM,I\O ports,counter etc.Here microcontroller control the operation of machine using fixed programme stored in Rom that doesn't change with lifetime.

Tightly Coupled Systems and Loosely Coupled Systems.

Tightly-coupled multiprocessor systems contain multiple CPUs that are connected at the bus level. These CPUs may have access to a central shared memory (or may participate in a memory hierarchy with both local and shared memory. Chip multiprocessors, also known as multi-core computing, involves more than one processor placed on a single chip and can be thought of the most extreme form of tightly-coupled

multiprocessing. Mainframe systems with multiple processors are often tightly-coupled.

Tightly-coupled systems perform better and are physically smaller than loosely-coupled systems, but have historically required greater initial investments and may depreciate rapidly. Tightly-coupled systems tend to

be much more energy efficient than clusters. This is because considerable economies can be realized by designing components to work together from the beginning in tightly-coupled systems

Loosely-coupled multiprocessor systems (often referred to as clusters) are based on multiple standalone single or dual processor commodity computers interconnected via a high speed communication system

(Gigabit Ethernet is common). A Linux Beowulf cluster is an example of a loosely-coupled system. Nodes in a loosely-coupled system are usually inexpensive commodity computers and can be recycled as independent

machines upon retirement from the cluster.

Timing effects of Addressing Modes

Addressing modes affect both the amount of time required for executing an instruction and the amount of memory required for its storage. For example, instructions that use implied or register addressing, execute very quickly since they deal directly with the processor’s hardware or with data already present in hardware registers. Most important, however is that the entire instruction can be fetched with a single memory access. The number of memory accesses required is the single greatest factor in determining execution timing. More memory accesses therefore require more execution time. A CALL instruction for example, requires five memory accesses:  three to access the entire instruction and two more to push the contents of

the program counter onto the stack.

The processor can access memory once during each processor cycle. Each cycle comprises a variable number of states. (See below and the appendix of “USING THE SDK-85 MICROPROCESSOR TRAINER”). The length of a state depends on the clock frequency specified for your system, and may range from 480 nanoseconds to 2 microseconds. Thus, the timing for a four state instruction may range from 1.920 microseconds through 8 microseconds. (The 8085 have a maximum clock frequency of 5 MHz and

therefore a minimum state length of 200 nanoseconds.)

system software

System software refers to the files and programs that make up your computer's operating system. System files include libraries of functions, system services, drivers for printers and other hardware, system preferences, and other configuration files. The programs that are part of the system software include assemblers, compilers, file management tools, system utilities, and debuggers.

The system software is installed on your computer when you install your operating system. You can update the software by running programs such as "Windows Update" for Windows or "Software Update" for Mac OS X. 

Unlike application programs, however, system software is not meant to be run by the end user. For example, while you might use your Web browser every day, you probably don't have much use for an assembler program (unless, of course, you are a computer programmer).

Since system software runs at the most basic level of your computer, it is called "low-level" software. It generates the user interface and allows the operating system to interact with the hardware. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about what the system software is doing since it just runs in the background. It's nice to think you are working at a "high-level" anyway.

Specific kinds of system software include:

• Loading , Linkers, Utility software,
• Desktop environment / Graphical user interface
• Shell, BIOS, Hypervisors
• Bootloaders

Programmed I/O and I/O mapped I/O

Memory mapped I/O is mapped into the same address space as program memory and/or user memory, and is accessed in the same way. I/O mapped I/O (also known as port mapped I/O) uses a separate, dedicated

address space and is accessed via a dedicated set of microprocessor instructions. If you're using a microprocessor or microcontroller that doesn't support port mapped I/O, then you have to use memory mapped I/O.

Microprocessors that support port mapped I/O include Intel x86 and compatible processors, and also the Zilog Z80 and Intel 8080.

Microprocessors that DON'T support port mapped I/O (and hence require the use of memory mapped I/O) include the Motorola 6800 and the MOS Technology 6502.

The advantage of port mapped I/O is that it makes for neater code and requires fewer external components to implement I/O. However, it adds to the complexity and pin count of the microprocessor itself.

2's complement method

Why 2's complement method is used for representation of negative numbers?

The two's complement of a binary number is defined as the value obtained by subtracting the number from a large power of two (specifically, from 2N for an N-bit two's complement).

A two's-complement system or two's-complement arithmetic is a system in which negative numbers are represented by the two's complement of the absolute value; this system is the most common method of representing signed integers on computers. In such a system, a number is negated (converted from positive to negative or vice versa) by computing its two's complement. An N-bit two's-complement numeral system can represent every integer in the range −2N-1 to +2N-1-1.

The two's-complement system has the advantage of not requiring that the addition and subtraction circuitry examine the signs of the operands to determine whether to add or subtract. This property makes the system both simpler to implement and capable of easily handling higher precision arithmetic. Also, zero has only a single representation, obviating the subtleties associated with negative zero, which exists in ones'-complement

systems.

Differentiate between RISC and CISC

CISC

• Emphasis on hardware
• Includes multi-clock complex 

  instructions
• Memory-to-memory: 

  "LOAD" and "STORE" 

  incorporated in instructions
• Small code sizes,

  high cycles per second
• Transistors used for storing 

  complex instructions

RISC

• Emphasis on software
• Single-clock, reduced instruction only
• Register to register: "LOAD" and "STORE" are independent instructions
• Low cycles per second, large code sizes.
• Spends more transistors on memory registers

CS6303 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE UNIT VMEMORY AND I/O SYSTEM

PART-A 
1. What are the temporal and spatial localities of references?
2. Write the structure of memory hierarchy
3. What are the various memory technologies?
4. Differentiate SRAM from DRAM.
5. What is flash memory ?
6. Define − Rotational Latency
7. What is direct-mapped cache?
8. Consider a cache with 64 blocks and a block size of 16 bytes. To what block number
does byte address 1200 map?
9. How many total bits are required for a direct-mapped cache with 16 KB of
data and 4-word blocks, assuming a 32-bit address?
10. What are the writing strategies in cache memory?
11. What are the steps to be taken in an instruction cache miss?
12. Define – AMAT
13. What are the various block placement schemes in cache memory?
14. Define – MTTF and AFR
15. Define – Availability
16. What are the three ways to improve MTTF?
17. Define – TLB
18. What is meant by virtual memory?
19. Differentiate physical address from logical address.
20. What is meant by address mapping?

CS6303 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE UNIT IVPARALLELISM

PART-A
1. What is meant by ILP?
2. What is multiple issue? Write any two approaches.
3. What is meant by speculation?
4. Define – Static Multiple Issue
5. Define – Issue Slots and Issue Packet
6. Define – VLIW
7. Define – Superscalar Processor
8. What is meant by loop unrolling?
9. What is meant by anti-dependence? How is it removed?
10. Differentiate in-order execution from out-of-order execution.
11. What is meant by hardware multithreading?
12. What are the two main approaches to hardware multithreading?
13. What is SMT?
14. Compare SMT from hardware multithreading.
15. What are the three multithreading options?
16. Define – SMP
17. Differentiate UMA from NUMA.
18. What is a multicore microprocessor?
19. What is a parallel processing program?
20. Define a cluster

CS6303 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE UNIT III PROCESSOR AND CONTROL UNIT

PART-A 
1. What is meant by data path element?
2. What is the use of PC register?
3. What is meant by register file?
4. What are the two state elements needed to store and access an instruction?
5. Draw the diagram of portion of datapath used for fetching instruction.
6. Define – Sign Extend and Vector interupts
7. What is meant by branch target address?
8. Differentiate branch taken from branch not taken.
9. What is meant by delayed branch?
10. Write the instruction format for the jump instruction.
11. What are hazards? Write its types.
12. What is meant by forwarding?
13. What is pipeline stall?
14. What is meant by branch prediction?
15. What are the 5 pipeline stages?
16. What are exceptions and interrupts?
17. What is meant by pipelining?
18. What are the five steps in MIPS instruction execution?
19. What are the three instruction classes and their instruction formats?
20. Write the formula for calculating time between instructions in a pipelined processor.

CS6303 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE UNIT-II ARITHMETIC OPERATIONS

PART-A 
1. Add 610 to 710 in binary and Subtract 610 from 710 in binary
2. Write the overflow conditions for addition and subtraction.
3. Draw the Multiplication hardware diagram
4. List the steps of multiplication algorithm
5. What is fast multiplication?
6. List the steps of division algorithm
7. What is scientific notation and normalization? Give an example
8. Give the representation of single precision floating point number
9. Define overflow and under flow with examples
10. Give the representation of double precision floating point number
11. What are the floating point instructions in MIPS?
12. What are the steps of floating point addition?
13. List the steps of floating point multiplication
14. Define – Guard and Round
15. Write the IEEE 754 floating point format.
16. What is meant by sub-word parallelism?
17. Multiply 100010 * 100110.
18. Divide 1,001,010ten by 1000ten.
 19.For the following C statement, what is the corresponding MIPS assembly code?
 f = g + (h − 5)
 20.For the following MIPS assembly instructions above, what is a corresponding
C statement?
add f, g, h
add f, i, f

CS6303 COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE UNIT-1OVERVIEW AND INSTRUCTIONS

 PART- A 

1. What are the eight great ideas in computer architecture?

2. What are the five classic components of a computer?

3. What is the function of data path and control path?

4. What is instruction set Architecture?

5. Define application binary interface

6. Differentiate DRAM and SRAM.

7. Compare Volatile and nonvolatile memory.

8. List the advantages of Network Computer.

9. Define VLSI

10. Differentiate Throughput and Response Time

11. Write the CPU performance equation.

12. If computer A runs a program in 10 seconds, and computer B runs the same program

in 15 seconds, how much faster is A over B.

13. Write the formula for CPU execution time for a program

14. Write the formula for CPU clock cycles required for a program.

15. How will you measure the dynamic power dissipppation?

16. Define – Stored Program Concepts

17. What are the fields in an MIPS instruction?

18. List the advantages of multiprocessor over uniprocessor.

19. What are the different types ofoperands? Give examples

20. List the different addressing modes