1.

1 Systems Architecture Revision Slide:

Fetch-Decode-Execute (Repeat) Cycle Computer Performance
Von Neumann Architecture is the stored
program concept where instructions are moving Stages and Register use as follows: Clock Speed
between memory and the CPU.
1. Fetch – Instruction is fetched from the Memory Increases performance by performing more
Components of the CPU Address which the Program Counter is currently instructions per second – measured in Hertz.
holding, one this is passed over the Program Higher values of these are always preferable.
• Control Unit – Oversees the FDE as well as
Counter increases by 1
other components of the CPU Cache Size
2. Decode – The Memory Address provides the
• Arithmetic and Logic Unit – Responsible for High speed small storage memory that holds
location of the Memory Data to be used which is
the calculations performed by the CPU frequently used instructions which make
decoded by the Control Unit
• Cache – High speed small storage memory routine processes faster…
3. Execute – The instruction is carried out and the
used for storing frequently used instructions However, too much Cache memory is bad as
result stored in the accumulator with any
• Registers – Specific memory that stores data Memory Data Register being updated as needed. you only want a small set of frequent
that the CPU is currently processing instructions else it takes too long to search.
4. The process repeats.
Number of Cores
Embedded Systems
Registers you need to know about: The more cores in theory means the more
A device with a specific purpose that is built into a instructions carried out but not every program
• Program Counter – Holds the memory address larger device. These systems are built for reliability is optimised for this and it isn’t a direct
of the next instruction to be carried out and generally use Read-Only Memory to avoid their doubling of speed from 2 to 4 cores.
• Memory Address Register – Stores the purpose being changed.
What is a Core?
memory addresses of instructions being Exam board accepts:
searched for A processing unit found within the Central
• Dishwasher Processing Unit.
• Memory Data Register – Holds the
data/instructions that are to be read/written • Washing Machine
to memory
• MP3 Player
• Accumulator – Holds the result of any
 1.2.1/2 Memory and Storage
Secondary Storage Characteristics
Primary Storage is needed to store the files Secondary Storage is long term permanent storage of
that the CPU is currently accessing without files, without it we would be potentially relying on Solid
Optical Magnetic
volatile primary memory, which is much smaller than state
primary storage there could be potentially no
where to store data or relying on slower secondary storage in size. Medium
Capacity Low High
second storage to High

RAM (Random Access Memory) is volatile and Common Storage Types Speed High Medium High
often used to hold data/instructions that are
currently being used Optical – This consists of CD, DVDs and Blu-ray, these
are read by lasers and depending on the layout of the Portability High Low Medium
ROM (Read Only Memory) is non-volatile and surface of the disk, these are then read as 1 or 0
tends to hold operating system information as binary values. Durability Low High High
well as information such as boot-up
Magnetic – This is a magnetised disk where different
instructions areas contain different charge depending on what Reliability Medium Medium High
Virtual Memory is where RAM becomes full data they are storing, again this is put back into
and space is used secondary storage to binary value depending on the positive or negative
charge. Magnetic devices use a reader head which Cost Low Low High
temporarily act as RAM
moves as the disk spins.
Once the need for this ends, secondary
Solid State – The magical no-moving parts storage,
storage passes data back to the RAM until it is Optical: Stores from 700MB to 13GB
this is very fast storage as data is kept trapped in
next called on electronic gates but it doesn’t offer as much storage Magnetic: Stores from 500GB to 2TB
as magnetic devices.
Solid State: Stores from 100GB to 1TB
 1.2.3/4 Units
Binary – Conversion to and from denary Characters – ASCII is 7 bit, Extended ASCII is 8 bit. Lossy Compression
values, this will be 8 bit values but do double
Each character will take up potentially 7 or 8 bits This can be done by removing pixels
check the question (condensing the size of the image) or
(1 byte) per – spaces etc. are included in these
Hexadecimal – Conversion to and from calculations removing the amount of colours available
binary/denary Lossy results in permanent reductions in file
Read questions carefully to identify the number of
0-9 are the same bits for ASCII that they are using! size and it cannot be put back to the original
size once it has been compressed.
10-15 are A to F Unicode is another character set available.
Used on Sound/Images to make them faster
Hexadecimal is used as it is a shorter method Character set is a term that refers to all the to send/quicker to download online
of displaying data that is easier to remember, characters a computer can use, each represented RRRRGGRRBBBBB
it still needs to be converted back to binary. by different binary values
Becomes
Binary Addition Images – These are made up of pixels, each pixel
has a binary value attached to it. RRRGRBBB
Adding two values together
Resolution is the term for the width x height of a Lossless Compression
Overflow is always the problem, caused by screen / image
having too many digits for the bits available. This is a process of marking up data in a
For calculations you will need to times the total format that means it can be unpacked back
Binary Shifts – The act of increasing or amount of pixels by the bit depth. into the original size later.
decreasing a value by shifting
Generally used on software applications.
Note – 8 colours can be represented by 3 bits.
Left shift increases the value, doubling each
RRRRGGRRBBBBB
shift More bits available = higher quality, bigger file
Becomes:
Right shift decreases the value , halving each Sound – Sampling is taking a measure of the
shift height/amplitude of a wave at a set interval. 4R2G2R5B
More samples = higher quality, bigger file
 1.3 Networking
Local Area Network covering a small The Internet and DNS Wired vs Wireless
geographic area using their own equipment. Wired is faster and more secure but less
Domain Name Servers are used to convert URL ( portable than wireless.
Wide Area Network covering multiple sites www.google.co.uk) into an IP address Wireless is able to get around physical
that uses third party connections (e.g. the barriers and has many frequencies to allow
internet) to connect to each other. • Request to go to www.google.co.uk
people to connect to.
Factors that impact network performance: • DNS checks database for IP
Encryption
• Bandwidth (Maximum amount of data that • If it has it – returns this to the client Process of encoding text with a key to make
can be transmitted at once) it look jumbled up to anyone who
• Number of devices connected (More • If it doesn’t it asks another DNS until it finds it intercepts it
chance of collisions) (and updates its own records) or returns not IP Addressing/Mac Addressing
• Distance from Router if Wireless found. IP addresses (IPv4) are made up of 32 bits
• Obstacles such as walls if Wireless Star and Mesh Topologies (Read Question to that are 4 series of 8 bit values (from 0 to
Client-Server / Peer to Peer: check for context) 255) e.g. 192.168.1.3. The IP address of a
• Clients request services from the servers Star: device can change.
• Servers provide them to the clients Switch in the middle. Mac addresses are physical addresses used
+ Easy to add new devices by switches, these addresses do not change
Hardware required: - Single Point of Failure Protocols – Govern the rules of
• Router – Records IP addresses, allows Mesh Networks: communication between devices
internet access and records destinations + Self-healing network • HTTP/HTTPS – For displaying websites
• Switch – Uses MAC addresses, forwards - Lots of cabling/redundant connections • SMTP – For sending e-mails
information as needed • POP/IMAP – For storing e-mails
• WAP – Wireless Access Point, as it says! Full Mesh: • FTP – For sending files
• NIC – Network Interface Card All devices connected • TCP/IP – Internet settings
• Transmission Mediums – for example fibre to each other
optic cabling, this term just refers to the Layering is beneficial as they each have
Partial Mesh: their own specialist task and can be
connecting method used. Most connected to updated without impacting others
 1.4 Network Security
Forms of Attack & Prevention Denial of Service – Spamming a server with Other prevention methods…
requests until it is unable to handle them and
Malware – Malicious Software that is designed ultimately goes offline Physical Security includes
to prevent the victim using their device or Prevent by:
having access to their data – often attached to • Having a firewall in place • Locking the door
phishing e-mails or spam! • Changing your IP address • Biometrics (Fingerprint scanner)
• Viruses
• Spyware Data Interception involves using software or • CCTV (Closed Circuit Television)
• Ransomware hardware to pose as a network point or tapping • Access cards
Prevent by: into an existing one to try and obtain any
• Training staff to recognise phishing e-mails unencrypted data or passwords • Security guards
• Not downloading unfamiliar files Prevent by:
Other methods
• Using encryption
Social Engineering – Manipulating a victim • Not connecting to public networks • Firewall (stops connections)
into believing you are someone else or of
importance and using this to get sensitive SQL Injection is where SQL code is put into text • Anti-Malware (stops/removes malwares)
information from them boxes on a website with code to try to retrieve
Prevent by: information from the databases behind the • Strong Passwords (explain meaning of
• Training staff website, such as customer or admin data that is strong – long, use of chars/numbers)
• Checking credentials (ID etc.) not encrypted • Encryption (makes interception less of
Prevent by: an issue, as data cannot be understood)
Brute-Force Attack – Repeatedly guessing • Limiting amount of characters they can use
passwords until eventually you are able to gain • Preventing symbols such as * used by SQL • Penetration testing (allows you to fix
access to a system if they aren’t using a strong (wildcard symbol) vulnerabilities ahead of time)
password
Prevent by: • User access levels (restricts people
• Limiting password guesses accessing data or files they shouldn’t)
• Having a strong password (long/complex!)
 1.5 System Software
Operating System Software - Utility Software – This is software with a specific Defragmentation is where a hard-drives files
purpose that is to support the functionality of the become scattered around the disk, so they are no
The purpose of an operating system is to: computer longer in a continuous line. This means it takes
longer for files to be found as the reader head has
• Provide a user interface which allows Encryption is the process of scrambling a message to move more.
people to interact with the computer using a key to make it unreadable to those who Defragmentation solves this by grouping files
• Manages the memory and handles attempt to access it without the key. together (OS/Utility/Apps) and then leaving all
interrupts and what is currently in RAM the free space at the end.
Compression is either lossy or lossless and used to
• Manages the input/output (peripheral) reduce file sizes to make them smaller size on disk Defragmentation can be caused by files being
devices that are connected and quicker to send/transmit across the internet. deleted resulting in gaps appearing.

Lossy is permanent and reduces file size the most, This helps with magnetic hard drives as they no
• To manage users and their access levels longer need to spin as much to find files which
it tends to be used on images and sound. improves access speeds.
• To allow users to save, move, rename,
delete etc. files Lossless can be restored back to the original, it An example of how this can happen is when your
does not reduce file size as much, but for software game gets patched or DLC, there may not be
The Operating system enables multi-tasking by applications – e.g. Microsoft Word it is needed. room directly next to it on the disk – so it will
effectively managing the processes on the CPU place it elsewhere.
being undertaken to allow your computer to Back-Up Software does what it says – it is
access more than one program at once – this responsible for creating system backups in case of
process needs to be managed. issues, the computer can be restored to an earlier
point in time.
The key role of an operating system is to
provide feedback to the user as well as
allowing them to interact with the software
and devices attached.
 1.6 Ethics, Legal, Cultural and Environmental Issues
Environmental Legal:
Context is key – make your answer relevant to Whilst we may save paper on printing – does the Data Protection Act – Data must be
the example provided and use the bullet extra electricity cost outweigh this? • Kept secure and used by relevant people
points mentioned as discussion points
Is there too many pieces of working tech being • Not excessive and specific for the job
sent to landfill because people want the latest
item for fashion? • Not kept for too long or shared without
Include BOTH positive and negative aspects permission
Computers are made using chemicals and metals
Ethics: Computer Misuse Act – Means..
with increasing rarity – how good is this for the
Is it right to replace people with technology and environment? Unauthorised access to a computer is
put them out of a job? against the law, this can be via hacking or
Privacy Issues:
Is it right to potentially leave their future at the using someone's computer who has gone to
decision of a computer? Is it fair for children to have their lives posted all make a cup of tea!
over the internet by their parents before they are
Is it right to track people online for safety aware of the issues? Copyright and Patents
reasons? In place to prevent work being copied and
Do we all overshare and are expected to?
Cultural: distributed under someone else's name,
Are we giving away too much information to makes it illegal to do so
Is technology making communities more companies to micro-target us for their own
westernised and lose their traditions? financial gain or it is helpful to make us aware of Proprietary License – Means you can sell it
and people cannot legally change the source
Is it right to have robots doing people facing deals on products?
code
roles? Social Considerations:
Open Source – Means it is free and other
Has how we communicate changed and left Is it weird not to have social media? people are free to maintain and make
people behind? upgrades
May be looked down upon for not having latest
Does technology create a divide between rich tech. Reverse the good points to make them