CHAP 5

1. Describe characteristics of memory

Ans:
1.Location:
Based on its physical location, memory is classified into three types.
On chip : This memory is present inside the CPU E.g. Internal Registers
and L1 cache.
Internal: This memory is present on the motherboard. e.g. RAM
Processor can directly access this memory.
External : This is normally removable or virtual memory and hence
access is slower.

2. Storage Capacity :
It is measure in terms of the word size and the number of words.
It represent as N X M
It indicates the amount of data stored in memory.
N= Number of memory locations (number of words)
M = Number of bits per memory location ( word size )

3. Transfer Modes
Data can be accessed from memory in two different ways.
Word Transfer : Here, the CPU needs some data, it will transfer only that
amount of data.
E.g.data access form L1 cache
Block Transfer : Here, If CPU needs some data, it will transfer an entire
block containing that data.
This makes further access to remaining data of this much faster. This is
based on principle of spatial locality.
A processor is most likely to access data near the current location being
accessed.

4. Access Method:
There are various methods of accessing the memory based on the
memory organization.
These methods are listed below:
Sequential access:
The sequential access means start from the beginning and read
through in order until the byte to be read is reached.
For example: Magnetic tape
It is also called as serial access.
Random access:
In case of random access individual addresses identify location exactly.
Hence the all locations can be directly accessed in any random order.
This means all locations have the same access time irrespective of their
addresses. Eg. Most modern memories like RAM.
 5. Physical Properties:
There are various physical attributes to memory.
Writable : Contents of the memory can be altered E.g. RAM
Non-Writable : Contents of the memory cannot be altered e.g. ROM
Volatile : Contents of the memory are lost when power is switched off
e.g. RAM
Non-volatile : Contents of the memory are retained when power is
switched off. e.g ROM

6. Reliability:
It is the time for which memory is expected to hold the data without
any errors. It is measure as MTTF : Mean Time to Failure. It should be
as high as possible.

7. Cost:
This indicates that the cost storing data in memory. It is expressed as
cost/bit. It must be as low as possible.

8. Performance : The performance of the memory depends on its speed of

operation or the data transfer rate.
The data transfer rate is the rate at which the data is transferred. The speed
of operation depends on two things:
a)Access time (tA): IT is the time taken between placing the request and
completing the data transfer. It should be as less as possible. It is also
known as latency.
b)Memory cycle time: The time that is required for the memory to “recover” before next
access i.e. the time between two addresses is called as memory cycle time.

2. Explain Memory Hierarchy in detail

Ans:
3. Explain Types of RAM and ROM
Ans:
1)MROM (Masked Read Only Memory):
MROM is the oldest type of read-only memory whose program or data
is pre-configured by the integrated circuit manufacture at the time of
manufacturing.
Therefore, a program or instruction stored within the MROM chip
cannot be changed by the user.

2) Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM):

PROM is a blank version of ROM.
It is manufactured as blank memory and programmed after manufacturing.
We can say that it is kept blank at the time of manufacturing.
To write data onto a PROM chip; a device called PROM programmer or
PROM burner is used.
The process or programming a PROM is known as burning the PROM.
Once it is programmed, the data cannot be modified later, so it is also called
as one-time programmable device.

3) Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM):

EPROM is a type of ROM that can be reprogramed and erased many times.
The method to erase the data is very different; it comes with a quartz window
through which a specific frequency of ultraviolet light is passed for around 40
minutes to erase the data.
So, it retains its content until it is exposed to the ultraviolet light.
You need a special device called a PROM programmer or PROM burner to
reprogram the EPROM.

4) Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM):

ROM is a type of read only memory that can be erased and reprogrammed repeatedly, up
to 10000 times.
It is also known as Flash EEPROM as it is similar to flash memory. It is erased and
reprogrammed electrically without using ultraviolet light. Access time is between 45 and
200 nanoseconds.
The data in this memory is written or erased one byte at a time; byte per byte, whereas, in
flash memory data is written and erased in blocks.
So, it is faster than EEPROM. It is used for storing a small amount of data in computer
and electronic systems and devices such as circuit boards.
4. Differentiate RAM and ROM
Ans:

5. Describe the role of Cache Memory with its operation

Ans:
Cache memory is a small, high-speed memory that stores frequently accessed data, reducing
the time the CPU spends retrieving data from the slower main memory (RAM). It enhances
overall system performance by providing quick access to data.
Operations of Cache Memory
1. Cache Levels:
o L1: Smallest, fastest, closest to the CPU.
o L2: Larger, slower, often within the CPU.
o L3: Largest, shared among CPU cores.
2. Cache Hit: If the CPU finds the requested data in the cache, it retrieves it quickly, improving
speed.
3. Cache Miss: If the data is not in the cache, it is fetched from RAM and stored in the cache for
future use.
4. Replacement Policies:
o LRU (Least Recently Used): Replaces the least recently accessed data.
o FIFO (First-In, First-Out): Replaces the oldest data.
o Random: Randomly selects data to replace.
5. Write Policies:
o Write-through: Data is written to both cache and main memory simultaneously.
o Write-back: Data is written to cache first and main memory later.
Cache memory improves CPU speed by reducing memory access time.

6. Describe Cache coherence and write policies

Ans:
1)The cache coherence problem is the issue that arises when several copies of the same data
are kept at various levels of memory.
 2) A cache coherence issue results from the concurrent operation of several processors and
the possibility that various caches may hold different versions of the identical memory block.
3) The practice of cache coherence makes sure that alterations in the contents of associated
operands are quickly transmitted across the system.
The two methods listed below can be used to resolve the cache coherence issue:
• Write Through
The easiest and most popular method is to write through. Every memory write operation
updates the main memory. If the word is present in the cache memory at the requested
address, the cache memory is also updated simultaneously with the main memory.
• Write Back
Only the catch location is changed during a write operation in this approach. When the word
is withdrawn from the cache the place is flagged, so it is replicated in the main memory. The
right-back approach was developed because words may be updated numerous times while
they are in the cache

7. Explain locality of reference in Detail.

Ans:
Locality of reference is a principle in computer memory systems that refers to the tendency
of programs to access a relatively small portion of memory repeatedly over short periods of
time. This behavior can significantly enhance system performance by optimizing memory
access patterns, particularly for cache memory and paging systems.
There are two main types of locality: temporal locality and spatial locality

Temporal locality refers to the reuse of specific data or resources within relatively short time
periods. If a memory location (or data) is accessed once, it is likely to be accessed again in
the near future.

Spatial locality refers to the tendency of a program to access memory locations that are
physically close to each other. If a memory location is accessed, nearby memory locations are
likely to be accessed soon.
8. Explain Interleaved Memory in Detail.
Ans:
1)It is a Technique that divides memory into a number of modules such that Successive
words in the address space are placed in the Different modules.
2) Memory interleaving is a technique used to improve memory access efficiency and overall
system performance.
3) Interleaved memory Main memory divided into two or more sections. The CPU can access
alternate sections immediately, without waiting for memory to catch up (throughwaitstates).
4)Interleaved memory is one technique for compensating for the relatively slow speed of
dynamic RAM (DRAM).
5) Memory interleaving increases bandwidth by allowing simultaneous access to more than
one chunk of memory.
6)This improves performance because the processor can transfer more information to/from
memory in the same amount of time.
7) As an analogy, consider eating a plate of food with a
fork. Two-way interleaving would mean dividing the
food onto two plates and eating with both hands, using
two forks. (Four-way interleaving would require two
more hands. :^)
Remember that here the processor is doing the
"eating" and it is much faster than the forks (memory)
"feeding" it (unlike a person, whose hands are generally
faster.)

9. Explain Associative Memory in Detail.

Ans:

When data is accessed by data content rather than data

address, then the memory is called associative memory
or content addressable memory (CAM), associative
storage or associative array.

It is a special type of memory that is optimized for

performing searches through data, as opposed to
providing a simple direct access to the data based on the
address.
Memory is accessed simultaneously and in parallel on
basis of data rather than address or location. • More expensive than RAM - Each cell must
have storage
capability & logic circuits for matching content with
external argument

• Used in very critical and short search time applications.

• Data is stored at the very first empty location found
in memory.
• In Associative memory when data is stored at a
particular location but no address is stored along
with it.
• When the stored data need to searched then only
the key (i.e, data or part of data) is provided.
• When a word is written in an Associative memory, no
address is given.
• This memory is capable of finding an empty unused
location to store the word.
• when a word is do be "read" from an associative memory,
the content of word is specified or part of word is
specified.