COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

Unit I

2 - MARKS

1. What is computer Architecture?

It is concerned with structure and behavior of computer as seen by the user. It

includes the information formats, the instruction set, and techniques for addressing
memory of a computer system is concerned with the specifications of the various
functional modules, such as processors and memories and structuring them together
into a computer system.

2. What are the elements of computer?

 Input unit
 Memory unit
 Arithmetic and logic unit
 Control unit
 Output unit
3. List the instructions supported by IAS computer.

 Data transfer
 Unconditional branch
 Conditional branch
 Arithmetic
 Address modify

4. Define addressing modes and specify any two addressing modes?

The different ways in which the location of an operand is specified in instructions
are referred to as addressing modes. The two addressing modes are Direct addressing
modes and In Direct addressing modes

5. Briefly explain the floating point representation with an example?

The floating point representation has three fields : sign , significant digits and
exponent.
For example consider 1.11101100110*25
Sign = 0
Mantissa = 11101100110
Exponent = 5
6. What are the elements of instruction?
 Each instruction of the CPU contains specific information fields, which are
required to execute it. These information fields of instructions are called elements of
instruction. These are
 Operation code
 Source/destination operand
 Source operand address
 Destination operand address
 Next instruction address.
7. Define register?
A register is a group of flip- flops. A flip – flop can store 1 bit information. So an
n bit register has a group of n flip- flops and is capable of storing any binary
information/ number containing n – bits.

8. What are the steps in executing a program?

1. Fetch

2. Decode

3. Execute

4. Store

9. Write any two data movement of the shift registers?

10. What is the function of Control Unit?

The control unit (CU) is a component of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) that
directs operation of the processor. It tells the computer's memory, arithmetic/logic unit and input
and output devices how to respond to a program's instructions.
It directs the operation of the other units by providing timing and control signals.
UNIT –II
2 – Marks

1.What is the advantages in 1’s complement subtraction?

  The 1’s complement subtraction can be accomplished with an binary adder.
Therefore, this method is useful in arithmetic logic circuits.
 The 1’s complement of a number is easily obtained by inverting each bit in
the number.

2. Write the steps for subtracting smaller number from larger number in 1’s
complement?
 Determine the 1’s complement of smaller number.
 Add the 1’s complement to the larger number.
 Remove the carry and add it to the result.
This is called end- around carry.

3. Write the steps for subtracting larger number from smaller number in 1’s
complement?
 Determine the 1’s complement of smaller number.
 Add the 1’s complement to the larger number.
 Answer is in 1’s complement form. To get the answer in true form take the
1’s complement and assign negative sign to the answer.

4. What are the problems in floating point arithmetic?

 Mantissa overflow
 Mantissa underflow
 Exponent overflow
 Exponent underflow

5. What is coprocessor?
Coprocessor is a separate instruction set processor. It has its own instruction set
supporting the special exponential and trignometric functions. The instructions and
registers of coprocessor are just extension of the CPU’s instruction set and registers.
6. Give an example for the worst case of Booth algorithm

The worst case is shown as below

010101010

+1 -1 +1 -1 +1 -1 +1 -1 +1

In the worst case each bit of the multiplier selects the summands. This results in more number of
summands.

7. What is meant by propagation delay.

 In computer networks, propagation delay is the amount of time it takes for the head of
the signal to travel from the sender to the receiver. It can be computed as the ratio between the
link length and the propagation speed over the specific medium.

8. What is pipelining?
Pipelining is a technique where multiple instruction are overlapped in execution
for increasing processor throughput.

9. What is throughput?
The maximum number of operations completed per second can be gives as 1/T.

10. Solve the following using 2’s complement arithmetic.

a) Subtract 101011 from 111001 b) Subtract 111001 from 101011
111001 + 010101 (2’s complement of 101011)= 001110
101011 + 000111 (2’s complement of 111001)= 110010(2’s complement form)
= -001110(true form)

UNIT-III
2- Marks

1.What are the two approaches used for generating the control signals in proper
sequence?
 Hardwired control
 Microprogrammed control.

2. What are the factors determine the control signals?

 Contents of the control step counter.
 Contents of the instruction register.
 Contents of the condition code flag.
 External input signals such as MFC & interrupt requests.

3. What are the features of the hardwired control?

A controller that uses this approach can operate at high speed. It has little
flexibility and the complexity of the instruction set it can implement is limited.

4. Define micro programmed control and Control word?

Micro programmed control is a scheme in which control signals are generated by
a program similar to machine language program.
 A control word is a word whose individual bits represent the various control
signals.
5. Given the alternatives to increase speed in micro-programming.
1. Faster available control memory can be selected and use can be made of lone
microinstructions to simultaneously generate as many as control signals as possible.
2. Prefetching of microinstructions or a technique called pipelining can be used fro
microprogramming to increase speed of operation.

6. Name some register output control signals.

Pcout , MDR out, Zout, Offsetout, R1out, R2out, R3out and TEMPout

7. What are the design methods of Hardwired control Unit?

 State-Table Method
 Delay-Element Method
 Sequence-Counter Method
 PLA Method
8.What are the disadvantages of Microprogrammed control?
 A microprogrammed control unit is somewhat slower than the hardwired
control unit, because time is required to access the microinstructions from
CM.
 The flexibility is achieved at some extra hardware cost due to the control
memory and its access circuitry.

9. Compare vertical and horizontal organization.

10. Write few applications of Microprogramming?

 Realization of computers.
 Emulation
 Operating system support.
 High level language support.
 Micro diagnostics.
  User tailoring.

UNIT –IV
2- MARKS

1. Define memory access time?

The time required to access one word is called the memory access time or It is the
time that elapses between the initiation of an operation and the completion of that
operation.

2. What are the types of RAM?

Read /Write Memeory(RAM)
Static RAM
Dynamic RAM

3. When is a memory unit called as RAM?

A memory unit is called as RAM if any location can be accessed for a read or
writes operation in some fixed amount of time that is independent of the location’s
address.

4. What is MMU?
MMU is the Memory Management Unit. It is a special memory control circuit
used for implementing the mapping of the virtual address space onto the physical
memory.

5. What are the disadvantages of EPROM?

The chip must be physically removed from the circuit for reprogramming and its
entire contents are erased by the ultraviolet light.

6. Define static memories?

A memory that consists of circuits capable of retaining their state as long as
power is applied is called Static memories.

7. What is locality of reference?

Analysis of programs shows that many instructions in localized areas of the
program are executed repeatedly during some time period, and the remainder of the
program is accessed relatively infrequently. This is referred to as locality of reference.
This property leads to the effectiveness of cache mechanism.
8. What are the mapping techniques?
 Direct mapping
 Associative mapping
 Set Associative mapping

9. What are the two ways in which the system using cache can proceed for a write
operation?
 Write through protocol technique.
 Write-back or copy back protocol technique.

10. Differentiate static RAM and Dynamic RAM?

UNIT-V

2-Marks

1. Draw the taxonomy of Pentium Interrupts?

 2. What is program controlled I/O?
In program controlled I/O, the processor repeatedly checks a status flag to
achieve the required synchronization between the processor and an input and output
device

3. What are vectored interrupts?

To reduce the time involved in the polling process, a device requesting an
interrupt may identify itself directly to the processor. Then the, processor can
immediately start executing the corresponding ISR.The schemes based on this approach
is called vectored interrupts.

4. What are the functions of OS.

As a Manager or Resource Allocator
As a Control Program
As a Command Processor

5. What is DMA?
Transfer of a block of data directly between an external device and main
memory, without continuous intervention by the processor is called DMA.

6. What are the 2 independent mechanisms for controlling interrupt request?

 At the device end, an interrupt enable bit in a control register determines
whether the device is allowed to generate an interrupt request.
 At the processor end, either an interrupt enable bit in the PS or a priority
structure determines whether a given interrupt request will be accepted.

7. What are the various mechanisms for implementing I/O operations?

 Program controlled I/O
 Interrupts
 DMA

8. What are the three types of buses?

 Address bus
 Data bus
 Control bus

9. Define DMA controller.

The I/O device interface control circuit that is used for direct memory access is
known as DMA controller.
10. What is priority interrupt?
A priority interrupt is an interrupt that establishes a priority over the various
sources to determine which condition is to be serviced first when two or more requests
arrive simultaneously.

UNIT –I
16 Marks
1. Explain the various addressing modes?

• Immediate Mode
• Index Mode
• Indirect Mode
• Direct Mode
• Register Mode
• Autoincrement/ Autodecrement Mode
Addressing Modes
The term addressing modes refers to the way in which the
operand of an instruction is specified. Information contained in the
instruction code is the value of the operand or the address of the
result/operand. Following are the main addressing modes that are
used on various platforms and architectures.

1) Immediate Mode
The operand is an immediate value is stored explicitly in the
instruction:
Example: SPIM ( opcode dest, source)
move R0,#200; // move immediate value 200 in register R0
2) Index Mode

The address of the operand is obtained by adding to the contents of

the general register (called index register) a constant value. The
number of the index register and the constant value are included in
the instruction code. Index Mode is used to access an array whose
elements are in successive memory locations. The content of the
instruction code, represents the starting address of the array and
the value of the index register, and the index value of the current
element. By incrementing or decrementing index register different
element of the array can be accessed.
EX: move 20(R1),R2

3) Indirect Mode

The effective address of the operand is the contents of a register or

main memory location, location whose address appears in the
instruction. Indirection is noted by placing the name of the register
or the memory address given in the instruction in parentheses. The
register or memory location that contains the address of the
operand is a pointer. When an execution takes place in such mode,
instruction may be told to go to a specific address. Once it's there,
instead of finding an operand, it finds an address where the operand
is located.

NOTE:

Two memory accesses are required in order to obtain the value of

the operand (fetch operand address and fetch operand value).

Example: (textbook) ADD (A), R0

(address A is embedded in the instruction code and (A) is the

operand address = pointer variable)
EX:MOVE A,(R1)

4) Absolute (Direct) Mode

The address of the operand is embedded in the instruction code.

Example: (SPIM)
EX: MOVE A,2000

5) Register Mode

The name (the number) of the CPU register is embedded in the

instruction. The register contains the value of the operand. The
number of bits used to specify the register depends on the total
number of registers from the processor set.

Example (SPIM)
EX: MOV R1,R2.
No memory access is required for the operand specified in register
mode.

6) Autoincrement /Autodecrement Mode

A special case of indirect register mode. The register whose number

is included in the instruction code, contains the address of the
operand. Autoincrement Mode = after operand addressing , the
contents of the register is incremented. Decrement Mode = before
operand addressing, the contents of the register is decrement.

Ex for Autoincrement: MOVE (R2),+R0

Ex for Autodecrement: MOVE R1,-(R0)

2. Discuss in detail the evolution of computer?

The evolution of computers started way back in the late 1930s. Binary arithmetic is at the
core of the computers of all times. History of computers dates back to the invention of a
mechanical adding machine in 1642. Abacus, an early computing tool, invention of
logarithm by John Napier and the invention of slide rules by William Oughtred were
significant events in the evolution of computers.
Evolution of computer technology can be divided into five generations.
First generation computer consisted of vacuum tubes and they were used from 1943-1958.
ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) computer is an example of first
generation computer.
Second generation (1959-1965) computer consisted of transistors i.e. vacuum tubes were
replaced by transistors. Thus the size of the computer got reduced considerably.
 Third generation (1966-1973) computer consisted of integrated circuits (IC) i.e. many
transistors in single silicon chip. A single IC has many transistors, registers and capacitors
built on a single thin slice of silicon.
With the invention of microprocessor (1971), fourth generation of computer evolution
started and present day computers are also categorized in the fourth generation.
1. he
aiming
Generation Duration Memory device at
computers
capable
First (1943-1958) Vacuum tubes of
organizing
Second (1959-1965) Transistor themselves.
The evolution
Third (1966-1973) LSI (Large Scale Integration) IC
3. Fourth (1974-1990) VLSI (Very large Scale Integration) Discuss
about
Microprocessor. register
Fifth (1990 onwards) Biochips (concept of AI) level in
detail?
4. Discuss about processor level in detail
5. Write briefly about the Von-Neumann Architecture.
 UNIT – II

1. Write short notes on carry look ahead adder in detail?

2. Explain the Booth’s algorithm for signed multiplication of 5x4.
 3. Describe the pipeline processing and its design in detail?
Pipelining
– Comes from the idea of a water pipe: continue sending water without
waiting the water in the pipe to be out
– leads to a reduction in the critical path
– Either increases the clock speed (or sampling speed) or reduces the power
consumption at same speed in a DSP system
• Parallel Processing
– Multiple outputs are computed in parallel in a clock period
– The effective sampling speed is increased by the level of parallelism
– Can also be used to reduce the power consumption
4. Explain about the Non-Restoring division operation of 10x3 with flowchart.
5. Discuss in detail about 2s complement subtraction of fixed point numbers?
 UNIT – III

1. Describe the micro programmed control unit in detail?

2. Explain the basic concepts of micro operations?
3. Write short notes on Nanoprogramming with diagram?
4. Describe the pipeline control in detail?

 Instruction execution is divided into k segments or stages

 Instruction exits pipe stage k-1 and proceeds into pipe stage k
 All pipe stages take the same amount of time; called one processor cycle
 Length of the processor cycle is determined by the slowest pipe stage
 Five stage Instruction Pipeline

 Fetch instruction
 Decode instruction
 Fetch operands
 Execute instructions
 Write result

Example FIVE-segment pipeline

5. Write notes on super scaling processing in detail?
 UNIT – IV

1. Write notes on various types of ROMs.

ROM and its Organization
PROM (PROGRAMMABLE READ ONLY MEMORY)
FLASH MEMORY
 2. Explain the various secondary storage devices in details.
 Secondary storage for computers is non-volatile (i.e. does not require electrical power
to retain its contents.
 The basic types of secondary storage are:
- magnetic tape

- magnetic disk (``hard'' and ``floppy'')

- optical disk (CD-ROM, WORM, MO).

Magnetic Tape
 This is oldest, and originally the only, form of secondary storage.
 It is still used, mostly for backup or archival storage, and for batch processing.
 Data is stored on tracks on the tape - most tapes have9 tracks.
 There are several varieties of magnetic tape:
- 14" reels of 1/2" wide tape (2400' long)

- Cartridges of 1/4" tape

- Cassettes (very similar to audio cassettes)

 - Digital Audio Tape (DAT).

 Bytes of data (i.e. 8 bits) are stored across the width of the tape.
 The 9th bit is a parity bit. It helps to detect storage errors. Two types of parity can be
used.
 With even parity, the parity bit is set so that the group of 9 bits has an even number of
`1' bits.
 With odd parity, the parity bit is set so that the group of 9 bits has an odd number of
`1' bits.
 Data is stored at different densities (e.g. 1600 and 6250 bpi, where ``bpi'' means ``bytes
per inch'').

Magnetic tape has the following advantages:

 It is very inexpensive
 It can store large amounts of data
 It is relatively robust
 And the following disadvantages: 1. It only allows access to data sequentially and is
therefore very slow compared to other secondary storage technologies; 2. May need
manual intervention to mount/dismount.

Magnetic Disks
This is the most common form of secondary storage used today. Magnetic disks come in
two forms:
  hard disks
 floppy disks
Hard disks are (usually but not always) permanently mounted inside the computer. All
magnetic disks have a magnetizable iron oxide coating and read/write heads that can

 Typically rotate at about 400 rpm, and only when access to them is needed (unlike hard disks which rotate
all the time the computer is on).
 Like magnetic hard disks, floppy disks must also be formatted before they can be used.
 Typical storage capacity: 1.4 Mb
 Typical data access time: 200-400 msec.

move over the surface of the disk, which is spinning underneath it .The disk head works
in a similar way to the head in an audio tape recorder. The read/write head in a floppy
disk drive actually contacts the magnetic disk, but that in a hard disk ``flies'' a few
thousandths of an inch above it.

Magnetic Hard Disks

 Data on the disk surface is recorded on tracks (magnetic, not physical grooves!) which
form concentric circles on the disk.
 Each disk has a set number of tracks. Depending on type of disk drive, there may be
from 100 to over 10,000 tracks on the disk.
 Tracks with the same number on each disk (recording) surface form a cylinder.
 The disks spin at a fixed speed, typically at 3600 rpm (IDE) or 7500 -15,000 rpm (SCSI).
 Tracks on a disk are organized into sectors.
 To get to a particular piece of data on the disk a track number and a sector number are
needed.
 Data is read/written when the required sector on the track rotates into position under
the read/write head (note that data can be accessed from any track of the cylinder).
 The time taken to position the head over the correct track/cylinder is called the seek
time.
 The time needed for the sector to arrive (once the head is in position over the correct
track/cylinder) is called the latency time.
 Creating the magnetic tracks on a previously blank disk is called formatting the disk.
  Formatting destroys any data that might have been on the disk previously.
 Typical data access times for modern hard disks (i.e. latency + seek) are about 10-15
milliseconds
 Typical storage capacities today are:
o Microcomputer: 20 Mb - 240 Gb
o Mainframe: 240 - 800 Gb
 Magnetic hard disks are, in a mainframe environment, often referred to as DASD's -
``Direct Access Storage Devices''.
Magnetic Floppy Disks
 Current size is 3.5" diameter (older floppy disks were 5.25" and 8" in
diameter)Organized into tracks and sectors, like their harCD-RW (compact Disk
 Typically rotate at about 400 rpm, and only when access to them is needed (unlike hard disks which rotate
all the time the computer is on).
 Like magnetic hard disks, floppy disks must also be formatted before they can be used.
 Typical storage capacity: 1.4 Mb
 Typical data access time: 200-400 msec.

Optical Disks

 Optical disks are becoming more common. They come in several varieties:
 CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory)
 CD-R (Compact Disk Recordable)
 CD-RW (compact Disk Re-Writable)
 DVD (Digital Versatile/Video Disk)
 DVD-R (Digital Versatile Disk Recodable)
 DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Re-Writable)
 MO (magneto-optical).
CD-ROM

 Stands for ``Compact Disk - Read Only Memory''.

 Comes with data already stored on it - like a music compact disk.
 Useful for distributing information that should not be changed (e.g. encyclopaedias)
and programs (e.g. new versions of software) and, inevitably, games.
 Typical storage capacity: 650 Mb.
 New technology, known as DVD, will store up to 4G per disk. DVD disk drives are
required to read these disks.
 Typical data access time: 30-50 msec, although this is steadily improving and should
shortly be comparable with magnetic hard disks.
 Easy to handle, and relatively robust..

WORM

 Stands for ``Write Once, Read Many''.

 Data can be written onto the initially blank optical disk.
 Once written, the data cannot be erased.
 Useful for storing data that needs to be permanently retained.
 Similar in other respects to CD-ROM disks.

Magneto-Optical Disks (CD-Rewriteable)

 These are the optical version of magnetic hard disks - that is, data can be written to
them and erased from them.
 Similar in storage capacity and access time to the other types of optical disks.
 Data is written by heating a spot on the disk with a laser beam, in the presence of a
magnetic field, the direction of which determines whether a `0' or `1' is written.
 Data is read by shining a lower power laser beam onto the disk spot (without the
magnetic field) and detecting the polarization of the light that is reflected.

3. What are the various types of cache mapping mechanism? Explain in detail.
DIRECT MAPPING
ASSOCIATIVE MAPPING
SET ASSOCIATIVE MAPPING
4. Discuss the virtual memory management technique in detail.
ADDRESS TRANSLATION
5. Explain about Optical Memories with neat diagram.
 UNIT – V

1. Describe the data transfer method using DMA?

 2. Explain the different types of buses with neat diagram.

SYNCHRONOUS BUS
ASYNCHRONOUS BUS
3. What is interrupt? Explain different types of interrupt in detail.
4. Explain in detailed about loosely and tightly coupled of multiprocessor?
 5. What is operating system? Explain different types of operating system.

An operating system performs basic tasks such as,

 controlling and allocating memory,
 prioritizing system requests,
 controlling input and output devices,
 facilitating networking and
 managing file systems.
The structure of OS consists of 4 layers:
Hardware
Hardware consists of CPU, Main memory, I/O Devices, etc,
Software (Operating System)
Software includes process management routines, memory management routines, I/O
control routines, file management routines.
System programs
This layer consists of compilers, Assemblers, linker etc.
Application programs
This is dependent on users need. Ex. Railway reservation system, Bank database
management etc.,

Types of OS:

Operating System can also be classified as,-

 Single User Systems
 Multi User Systems

Single User Systems

 Provides a platform for only one user at a time.