Control Unit in Computer Architecture: What

is it?
The control unit, a vital part of the computer's CPU (central processing unit),
orchestrates the processor's operation. The concept of a control unit was first
introduced by John von Neumann in his Von Neumann Architecture . The control
unit's responsibility is to guide the computer's arithmetic/logic unit, memory,
and input and output devices on how to react to the commands given to the
processor.

The control unit retrieves internal program commands from the main memory,
moves them to the processor instruction register, and produces a control signal
based on the register's contents to manage the execution of these
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Understanding the Working of a CPU Control

Unit
A control unit gets data from the user, converts it into control signals, and then
passes these signals to the central processor. The computer's processor then
guides the connected hardware on the tasks to perform. Since CPU architecture
varies from one manufacturer to another, the functions carried out by a control
 unit in a computer depend on the type of CPU. Examples of devices that require
a control unit include:

o CPUs or Central Processing Units

o GPUs or Graphics Processing Units

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The Role of the Control Unit

o It manages the flow of data into, out of, and between the different
subunits of a processor.
o It can interpret commands and instructions.
 o It regulates the flow of data within the processor.
o It can accept external commands or instructions, which it transforms into
a series of control signals.
o It oversees the multiple execution units of a CPU (such as ALUs, data
buffers, and registers).
o It also performs various operations, including fetching, decoding,
managing execution, and storing results.

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Different Types of Control Units

The design of the control unit depends on the type of control unit being used.
Here are the types of control units:

Hardwired Control Unit

In a Hardwired Control Unit, the necessary control signals for instruction

execution control are generated by specially designed hardware logical circuits.
The signal production mechanism cannot be changed without physically altering
the circuit structure. For more information on the Hardwired Control Unit , click
here.

Micro Programmable Control Unit

The main difference between the unit structure and the hardwired control unit
structure is the presence of the control store. The control store is used to store
words containing encoded control signals necessary for instruction execution.

Introduction of Control Unit and its

Design
Last Updated : 31 Aug, 2023
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A CPU is the most important component of a computer system. A control unit is a part of the CPU. A
control unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but it does not carry out any data
processing operations.
What is a Control Unit?
The Control Unit is the part of the computer’s central processing unit
(CPU), which directs the operation of the processor. It was included as
part of the Von Neumann Architecture by John von Neumann. It is
the responsibility of the control unit to tell the computer’s
memory, arithmetic/logic unit, and input and output devices how to
respond to the instructions that have been sent to the processor. It
fetches internal instructions of the programs from the main memory
to the processor instruction register, and based on this register
contents, the control unit generates a control signal that supervises
the execution of these instructions. A control unit works by receiving
input information which it converts into control signals, which are
then sent to the central processor. The computer’s processor then tells
the attached hardware what operations to perform. The functions that
a control unit performs are dependent on the type of CPU because the
architecture of the CPU varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Examples of devices that require a CU are:
Control Processing Units(CPUs)
Graphics Processing Units(GPUs)
Functions of the Control Unit
 It coordinates the sequence of data movements into, out
of, and between a processor’s many sub-units.
 It interprets instructions.
 It controls data flow inside the processor.
 It receives external instructions or commands to which it
converts to sequence of control signals.
 It controls many execution units(i.e. ALU, data buffers
and registers) contained within a CPU.
 It also handles multiple tasks, such as fetching, decoding,
execution handling and storing results.
Types of Control Unit
There are two types of control units:
 Hardwired
 Micro programmable control unit.
Hardwired Control Unit
In the Hardwired control unit, the control signals that are
important for instruction execution control are generated by
specially designed hardware logical circuits, in which we can
not modify the signal generation method without physical
change of the circuit structure. The operation code of an
instruction contains the basic data for control signal
generation. In the instruction decoder, the operation code is
decoded. The instruction decoder constitutes a set of many
decoders that decode different fields of the instruction
opcode.
As a result, few output lines going out from the instruction
decoder obtains active signal values. These output lines are
connected to the inputs of the matrix that generates control
signals for execution units of the computer. This matrix
implements logical combinations of the decoded signals from
the instruction opcode with the outputs from the matrix that
generates signals representing consecutive control unit
states and with signals coming from the outside of the
processor, e.g. interrupt signals. The matrices are built in a
similar way as a programmable logic arrays.
Control signals for an instruction execution have to be
generated not in a single time point but during the entire
time interval that corresponds to the instruction execution
cycle. Following the structure of this cycle, the suitable
sequence of internal states is organized in the control unit. A
number of signals generated by the control signal generator
matrix are sent back to inputs of the next control state
generator matrix.
This matrix combines these signals with the timing signals,
which are generated by the timing unit based on the
rectangular patterns usually supplied by the quartz
generator. When a new instruction arrives at the control unit,
the control units is in the initial state of new instruction
fetching. Instruction decoding allows the control unit enters
the first state relating execution of the new instruction, which
lasts as long as the timing signals and other input signals as
flags and state information of the computer remain
unaltered.
A change of any of the earlier mentioned signals stimulates
the change of the control unit state. This causes that a new
respective input is generated for the control signal generator
matrix. When an external signal appears, (e.g. an interrupt)
the control unit takes entry into a next control state that is
the state concerned with the reaction to this external signal
(e.g. interrupt processing).
The values of flags and state variables of the computer are
used to select suitable states for the instruction execution
cycle. The last states in the cycle are control states that
commence fetching the next instruction of the program:
sending the program counter content to the main memory
address buffer register and next, reading the instruction word
to the instruction register of computer. When the ongoing
instruction is the stop instruction that ends program
execution, the control unit enters an operating system state,
in which it waits for a next user directive.
Micro Programmable control unit
The fundamental difference between these unit structures
and the structure of the hardwired control unit is the
existence of the control store that is used for storing words
containing encoded control signals mandatory for instruction
execution. In microprogrammed control units, subsequent
instruction words are fetched into the instruction register in a
normal way. However, the operation code of each instruction
is not directly decoded to enable immediate control signal
generation but it comprises the initial address of a
microprogram contained in the control store.
 With a single-level control store: In this, the instruction
opcode from the instruction register is sent to the control
store address register. Based on this address, the first
microinstruction of a microprogram that interprets
execution of this instruction is read to the microinstruction
register. This microinstruction contains in its operation part
encoded control signals, normally as few bit fields. In a set
microinstruction field decoders, the fields are decoded.
The microinstruction also contains the address of the next
microinstruction of the given instruction microprogram and
a control field used to control activities of the
microinstruction address generator.
 The last mentioned field decides the addressing
mode (addressing operation) to be applied to the address
embedded in the ongoing microinstruction. In
microinstructions along with conditional addressing mode,
this address is refined by using the processor condition
flags that represent the status of computations in the
current program. The last microinstruction in the
instruction of the given microprogram is the
microinstruction that fetches the next instruction from the
main memory to the instruction register.
 With a two-level control store: In this, in a control unit
with a two-level control store, besides the control memory
for microinstructions, a nano-instruction memory is
included. In such a control unit, microinstructions do not
contain encoded control signals. The operation part of
microinstructions contains the address of the word in the
nano-instruction memory, which contains encoded control
signals. The nano-instruction memory contains all
 combinations of control signals that appear in
microprograms that interpret the complete instruction set
of a given computer, written once in the form of nano-
instructions.

In this way, unnecessary storing of the same operation

parts of microinstructions is avoided. In this case,
microinstruction word can be much shorter than with the
single level control store. It gives a much smaller size in
bits of the microinstruction memory and, as a result, a
much smaller size of the entire control memory. The
microinstruction memory contains the control for selection
of consecutive microinstructions, while those control
signals are generated at the basis of nano-instructions. In
nano-instructions, control signals are frequently encoded
using 1 bit/ 1 signal method that eliminates decoding.
Advantages of a Well-Designed Control
Unit
 Efficient instruction execution: A well-designed control
unit can execute instructions more efficiently by optimizing
the instruction pipeline and minimizing the number of
clock cycles required for each instruction.
 Improved performance: A well-designed control unit can
improve the performance of the CPU by increasing the
clock speed, reducing the latency, and improving the
throughput.
 Support for complex instructions: A well-designed
control unit can support complex instructions that require
multiple operations, reducing the number of instructions
required to execute a program.
 Improved reliability: A well-designed control unit can
improve the reliability of the CPU by detecting and
correcting errors, such as memory errors and pipeline
stalls.
 Lower power consumption: A well-designed control unit
can reduce power consumption by optimizing the use of
resources, such as registers and memory, and reducing
the number of clock cycles required for each instruction.
 Better branch prediction: A well-designed control unit
can improve branch prediction accuracy, reducing the
number of branch mispredictions and improving
performance.
 Improved scalability: A well-designed control unit can
improve the scalability of the CPU, allowing it to handle
larger and more complex workloads.
 Better support for parallelism: A well-designed control
unit can better support parallelism, allowing the CPU to
execute multiple instructions simultaneously and improve
overall performance.
 Improved security: A well-designed control unit can
improve the security of the CPU by implementing security
features such as address space layout randomization and
data execution prevention.
 Lower cost: A well-designed control unit can reduce the
cost of the CPU by minimizing the number of components
required and improving manufacturing efficiency.
Disadvantages of a Poorly-Designed
Control Unit
 Reduced performance: A poorly-designed control unit
can reduce the performance of the CPU by introducing
pipeline stalls, increasing the latency, and reducing the
throughput.
 Increased complexity: A poorly-designed control unit
can increase the complexity of the CPU, making it harder
to design, test, and maintain.
 Higher power consumption: A poorly-designed control
unit can increase power consumption by inefficiently using
resources, such as registers and memory, and requiring
more clock cycles for each instruction.
 Reduced reliability: A poorly-designed control unit can
reduce the reliability of the CPU by introducing errors, such
as memory errors and pipeline stalls.
 Limitations on instruction set: A poorly-designed
control unit may limit the instruction set of the CPU,
making it harder to execute complex instructions and
limiting the functionality of the CPU.
 Inefficient use of resources: A poorly-designed control
unit may inefficiently use resources such as registers and
memory, leading to wasted resources and reduced
performance.
 Limited scalability: A poorly-designed control unit may
limit the scalability of the CPU, making it harder to handle
larger and more complex workloads.
 Poor support for parallelism: A poorly-designed control
unit may limit the ability of the CPU to support parallelism,
reducing the overall performance of the system.
 Security vulnerabilities: A poorly-designed control unit
may introduce security vulnerabilities, such as buffer
overflows or code injection attacks.
 Higher cost: A poorly-designed control unit may increase
the cost of the CPU by requiring additional components or
increasing the manufacturing complexity