UCCD1133

Introduction to Computer Organisation and Architecture

Chang Jing Jing ([email protected])

Lecture 1
Introduction to Computer Systems
Outline
Computer hardware and software.
Overview of computer organisation and architecture.
Brief history of computers
Computer hardware and software
Computer hardware is the electronic circuitry that performs the actual
work.
Hardware includes things with which you are already familiar such as
the processor, memory, keyboard etc.
Computer software can be divided into application software and system
software.
A user interacts with the system through an application software (e.g.,
Web browser, word processors, music player, etc.).
The system software manages the hardware resources efficiently and
also provides nice services to the application software layer. Examples
are operating systems such as WindowsTM, UnixTM and Linux.
System software also includes compilers, assemblers, and linkers that
we will be discussed later.
Application software

System software

>> A users view of a System hardware

computer system.
Overview of computer organisation and architecture
Computer architecture refers to the aspects with which a programmer is
concerned.
The most obvious one is the design of an instruction set for the
computer.

Computer organisation is concerned with how the various hardware

components operate and how they are interconnected to implement the
architectural specifications.

For example, it is an architectural design issue whether a computer will

have a multiply instruction. It is an organisational issue whether the
instruction will be implemented by a special multiply unit or by a
mechanism that makes repeated use of the addition unit of a system.
A Brief History of Computers
First generation: Vacuum Tubes (1937 1946)
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), designed
and constructed at the University of Pennsylavania, was the worlds first
general purpose electronic digital computer.
It weighed 30 tons, and had 18,000 vacuum tubes which was used for
processing.
The ENIAC was a decimal rather than a binary machine. A ring of 10
vacuum tubes represented each digit. At any time, only one vacuum tube
was in the ON state, representing one of the 10 digits.
A Brief History of Computers
Second generation: Transistors (1947 1962)
The first major change in the electronic computer came with the
replacement of vacuum tube by the transistor.
The transistor is smaller, cheaper, and dissipates less heat than a
vacuum tube. Unlike the vacuum tube, which requires wires, metal plates,
a glass capsule, and a vacuum, the transistor is a solid-state device,
made from silicon.
In 1950s, the IBM 7000
series computers were
introduced. During this
generation, many
changes have been seen:
more complex arithmetic
and logic units and control
units, the use of high-level
programming languages,
and the provision of
system software with the
computer.
A Brief History of Computers
Third generation: Integrated circuits
(1963 present)
Second generation: Electronic equipment
composed of transistors, resistors,
capacitors, etc. soldered or wired together
onto circuit boards, which were then
installed in computers cumbersome and
expensive.
The invention of integrated circuits (IC)
era of microelectronics. The IC exploits the
fact that such components (transistors,
resistors, etc.) can be fabricated from a
semiconductor such as silicon.
Each chip consists of many gates and
memory cells. This chip is then packaged in
housing that protects it and provides pins
for attachment to devices. A number of
these packages can be interconnected on a
printed circuit board to produce larger and
more complex circuits.
 copyright 2009 Mok KM

Design Abstraction: Classification and Hierarchy

Computer systems are complex. To manage this complexity, we use a
series of abstraction.
Each level of abstraction
- Used to represent the same design
- With varying degree of details (timing (speed), power consumption, silicon area
used).

Functional partitioning (successively

subdividing the function) of the digital
system in a hierarchical manner

Board
System Level Microchip

The ultimate goal - to

reach the layout level
in structural form,
Micro-Architecture Unit then only can be
Level manufactured.

Micro-Architecture
Level Block
 copyright 2009 Mok KM

Design Abstraction: Classification and Hierarchy

What is hierarchy of design abstraction?

Levels of Structural Descriptions Behavioural Descriptions
Abstraction
Increasing
System or board Chips e.g. uP, uC, coprocessor Each chip description include written
detail
level (chip level) (multimedia, floating-point, image spec (English language) and
etc), mem chips (RAM, ROM, Flash executable spec (algorithm), sequential
etc) etc programs
Architecture level None Organization of programmable storage, The same design
(ISA) - instr set formats and encoding, mem & can be
programmers I/O address maps, addressing modes represented at
model and paging, exception models, data each level with
types and structures. varying degree of
Micro-architecture Units e.g. central processing unit, Each unit description include algorithms details (timing
level (Unit level) datapath unit, control unit, mem unit, and data flow (speed), power
bus unit, I/O unit (serial I/O, parallel consumption,
I/O etc) etc
silicon area used).
Micro-arch level Blocks & sub-blocks e.g. controller, Each block/functional block description
(Block level) register file, counter, functional units include simple algorithm, state diagram,
- register transfer (ALU, adders, subtractors etc) etc ASM, data flow and Boolean equation
level (RTL) Each level are
Gate level Gate/primitive/netlist (e.g. AND, OR, Each group of gates description include
interrelated in a
XOR etc), group of gates (cloud Boolean equation, truth tables and state hierarchical
symbol), flip-flop, mux, demux, etc tables wise.
Transistor circuit Transistor, R, L, C, interconnects etc Each group of transistor description
level or Switch level include primitive, differential equation
and transfer function
Layout level or Geometrical objects e.g. metal Each geometrical object description Increasing
silicon level layer, polysilicon layer, n-well layer, include equations of electron and hole abstraction
p-well layer, etc motion (carrier transport phenomenon)
 copyright 2009 Mok KM

Examples 1: Representation in Structural Domain

Image Microprocessor register

Processor On-Chip
register

mux
RAM
Bus Interface Central
Parallel
Processing
Microprocessor Port
Unit
incrementer
Off-Chip UART
RAM
(c) Micro-Architecture level
Video (Blocks level).
Controller (b) Micro-Architecture level
(Unit level).
(a) System / board level.

Polysilicon
N Well

S VDD PMOS Contact

N1 Q_n
NMOS
PMOS
N2 Q in out
R
NMO Metal
S
S Q
Gnd
R Q

(d) Gate level. (e) Circuit level. (f) Silicon level.