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Memory Banking in 8086 Microprocessor

Memory banking in the 8086 microprocessor allows simultaneous access to two memory locations, improving 16-bit data transfer efficiency by dividing memory into Even and Odd banks. This method enhances performance, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness but introduces complexity, potential latency, and is limited to specific applications. The choice between 8-bit and 16-bit transfers is determined by programmer instructions using specific address signals.

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Vanshika Singhal
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61 views2 pages

Memory Banking in 8086 Microprocessor

Memory banking in the 8086 microprocessor allows simultaneous access to two memory locations, improving 16-bit data transfer efficiency by dividing memory into Even and Odd banks. This method enhances performance, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness but introduces complexity, potential latency, and is limited to specific applications. The choice between 8-bit and 16-bit transfers is determined by programmer instructions using specific address signals.

Uploaded by

Vanshika Singhal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Memory Banking in Microprocessor

The 8086 processor provides a 16-bit data bus. So It is capable of transferring 16 bits in one cycle but
each memory location is only of a byte(8 bits), therefore we need two cycles to access 16 bits(8 bit
each) from two different memory locations. The solution to this problem is Memory Banking.
Through Memory banking, our goal is to access two consecutive memory locations in one
cycle(transfer 16 bits).

The memory chip is equally divided into two parts(banks). One of the banks contains even addresses
called Even bank and the other contains odd addresses called Odd bank. Even bank always gives
lower byte So Even bank is also called Lower bank(LB) and Odd bank is also called Higher bank(HB).

This banking scheme allows to access two aligned memory locations from both banks simultaneously
and process 16-bit data transfer. Memory banking doesn’t make it compulsory to transfer 16 bits, it
facilitates the 16-bit data transfer.
The choice between 8 bit and 16-bit transfer depends on the instructions given by the programmer.

Example:

The Least Significant bit of address (A0 is not used for byte selection) is reserved for bank selection.
Therefore A0=0 will select Even bank. The BHE signal is used for the selection of odd banks. The
processor will use a combination of these two signals to decide the type of data transfer.

BHE A0 types of Transfer

0 0 16-0bit data transfer from both HB and LB

0 1 8-bit data transfer from HB


1 0 8-bit data transfer from LB

1 1 None(Idle)

In this case, the first machine cycle generates an odd address (A0=1) transfer lower order 8 data bits
on a higher-order data bus. In the second machine cycle, the higher-order data bus will be
transferred to the lower-order data bus.

Advantages:

Improved Performance: Memory banking allows the microprocessor to access multiple banks of
memory simultaneously. This can improve the performance of memory-intensive applications by
reducing memory access times and increasing overall memory bandwidth.

Flexibility: Memory banking provides a flexible way to allocate and manage memory resources. It
allows the processor to allocate memory as needed, which can help reduce memory wastage and
improve overall system efficiency.

Cost-Effective: Memory banking can be a cost-effective way to increase the memory capacity of a
microprocessor. Instead of using expensive, high-density memory modules, memory banking allows
the use of multiple, smaller memory modules.

Disadvantages:

Increased Complexity: Memory banking adds complexity to the microprocessor design, which can
make it more difficult to implement and debug. Memory banking requires additional hardware
components, such as memory address decoders and control logic, which can increase the cost and
complexity of the microprocessor.

Latency: Although memory banking can improve memory performance, it can also introduce latency.
Memory banking requires additional memory address decoding and control logic, which can increase
memory access times and reduce overall system performance.

Limited Applications: Memory banking is not suitable for all types of microprocessor applications. It
is primarily used in systems that require large amounts of memory, such as high-performance
computing and data center applications. In other applications, the added complexity and cost of
memory banking may not be worth the benefits.

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