Topic 6 (HL)

Resource Management
IB Computer Science
What is this topic about?
- In-depth look at components of a computer
- How components work together
- Component specifications and their impact
- How and when certain components are used
- Role of Operating Systems
Resource Management
Resources to Manage
- Primary Memory (RAM)
- Secondary Storage (HDD,
SSD, optical drives)
- Processor Speed
- Bandwidth
- Screen resolution
- Sound processor
- Graphics Processor
- Cache
- Network Connectivity
Primary Memory (RAM)
- Role
- Stores data for currently running programs
- Common Capacities - 4, 8, 16 GB
- Effect of Limited Primary Memory
- Fewer programs or processes can run simultaneously
- Computer must rely on virtual memory, which is much slower
Secondary Storage
- Role
- Stores all data, including the OS, program files, and multimedia
data
- Used as virtual memory when RAM is overloaded
- Common Capacities
- HDD (Hard Disk Drive) - 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
- SSD (Solid State Drive) - 256GB, 512GB
- Optical - CD: 650MB, DVD: 4.7GB
- Effect of Limited Secondary Storage
- Limited Virtual Memory from RAM to rely on
- Limited number of programs and files can be stored and used
Processor (CPU)
- Role
- Handles all calculations and logical operations
- Can contain multiple cores (ALUs) to conduct more operations per
second
- Common Processor Speeds
- Speeds measured in GHz (1 billion FDE (Fetch-Decode-Execute) cycles
per second)
- Common Speeds: 2, 2.4, 3.2 GHz
- Effect of Limited Processor Speed
- All programs run more slowly
- Any calculation-intensive operations (games, video editors, graphic
design software, etc.) run more slowly
Bandwidth (Network Capability)
- Bandwidth (Bitrate) - how much data can be sent at the same
time in a given time frame
- Common Speeds
- Speed expressed in megabits or gigabits per second
- 100 Mbps = 100 megabits per second = 100/8 (12.5 megabytes
per second)
- Broadband (16-100 Mbps), LAN (1 Gbps)
- Effect of Limited Bandwidth
- Slow data transfer across networks
- If accessing internet through network, internet speeds will be
slower
Screen Resolution
- Screen Resolution - number of pixels that can shown horizontally
and vertically (Usually defined by height x width of screen)
- Common Screen Resolutions
- 1024 x 768 (XGA)
- 1366 x 768 (HD 720p)
- 1920 x 1080 (HD 1080p)
- 4096 x 2304 (4K)
- Effect of Limited Screen Resolution
- Images and videos are pixelated
- Smaller file sizes required to display images and videos, but quality is much lower
Sound Processor
- Role
- Translates analog audio signals (microphone) to digital signals and digital signals
to analog audio signals (speakers)
- Process audio files to produce high quality analog output
- Frees up CPU from audio-related tasks
- Common Use Cases - Computers, Home Theatre Systems, Phones
- Effect of Limited Sound Processing Capability
- Low quality audio output
- CPU capacity is lower, because it is being utilized for audio-related tasks
- Audio-related operations take longer
Cache
- Role
- Sits between CPU and RAM
- Contains instructions/data most frequently requests by CPU from RAM
- Speeds up CPU operations (specifically FDE cycle)
- Common Cache Sizes/Types
- 8MB, 16MB, 32MN
- Certain amount of cache attached to each core
- Effect of Limited Cache Size
- CPU must wait longer to receive instructions from RAM
- CPU operations are slower
Graphics Processor (Graphics Card)
- Role
- Responsible for rendering images to display (computer screen,
etc.)
- Contains GPU (Graphical Processing Unit) and memory to
handle all graphical operations
- Does highly intensive graphical operations in parallel
- Effect if Limited Graphics Card Capability
- Graphical operations shifted to CPU, slowing it down
- Can lead to reduced graphics quality
Network Connectivity
- Types of Network Connectivity Devices
- NIC - Network Interface Card - Connects to ethernet cords
- WNIC - Wireless Network Interface Card - Connects to wireless
networks
- Bluetooth - Communicates via bluetooth signals
- 3G/4G/5G - Communicates via cellular standard radio waves
- Effects of Limited Network Connectivity
- Access to other computers over network is very slow
- If network is internet-enabled, internet access can be very slow
Mainframes
- One computer with many
multicore processors (100s of
processors)
- Vast amounts of RAM (100s of
terabytes) and Secondary
Storage (1000s of Petabytes)
- Uses (Examples
- Airline Reservation Systems
- Payroll Processing
- Weather/Financial Models and
Prediction
Server Farms
- Consists of many powerful computers
connected and working in parallel
- Each computer could have multiple
processors, terabytes of secondary
storage and 16 gigabytes of RAM or
more
- Uses (Examples)
- Data Centers
- Cloud Hosting
- Scientific Simulations/Predictions
- 3D Rendering
Operating System
Operating System
- Roles
- Peripherals
- Memory Management
- Secondary Storage
Management
- User Interface
- Time Slicing
- Interrupts & Interrupt Handling
- Scheduling
- Multitasking
- Virtual Memory
- Paging
- Interrupt
Peripherals
- Peripherals - devices that can
be connected to computer
(mouse, keyboard, speakers,
printer etc.), but are not essential
- Drivers are software programs
that translate the signal from the
peripheral into digital data that
can be interpreted by a computer
- Majority of drivers included as
part of OS, but can also be
installed.
Memory Management
- OS ensures that each program is allotted
its own chunk (set of memory addresses)
of RAM, known as memory space.
- OS also ensures that programs doesn’t
access or modify the memory space of
other programs
- OS manages the virtual memory
feature by transferring pages of data
from RAM to secondary storage when
RAM is overloaded.
- Data is transferred back to RAM from
virtual memory, when there is free space.
Memory Management - Paging (Swapping)
- After placing data in secondary storage, as
soon as there is empty space in the RAM,
data will be transferred back.
- Swapping is controlled by computer’s
memory management unit (MMU)
- MMU may use any number of algorithms to
choose pages to be swapped back to the
RAM, including Least Recently Used (LRU),
Least Frequently Used (LRU), and Most
Recently Used (MRU)
- File in secondary storage that contains pages
is called the pagefile (or swapfile)
Secondary Storage Management
- OS provides folder (directory)
structure for files in secondary
storage
- OS also manages security of
these folders (user access
rules)
User Interface
- Examples include, GUI, CLI, etc.
- Used to interact with computers
- Allows user to give commands
to computer
- Translates any input or output
via the user interface and sends
it to/from the correct memory
address
- Two types of OSes - GUI-based
(Windows) and CLI-based
(some versions of Linux)
Time Slicing
- Time slicing managed and
coordinated by OS
- A time-slice is the set
amount of processing time a
particular program or user is
allotted for CPU usage
- Slices (called threads) are
scheduled for execution by
the scheduler program.
- Slices representing tasks from
different programs can “take
turns” being executed.
Interrupts & Interrupt Handlers
- Signal to processor emitted by
hardware or software indicating an
event that needs immediate attention
- OS pauses current action, saving
state, and initiating a program called
an interrupt handler to deal with
the high-priority event
- After interrupter handler is finished,
normal operations resume
- Two types of interrupts: hardware
interrupts and software interrupts
Examples of Interrupts
- Hardware Interrupts
- Printer paper jam
- Keyboard press by user
- Disk drive indicating it is ready for more data
- Software Interrupts
- Software error/malfunction
- Infinite loop
Polling
- Process where one program or
device repeatedly asks for the status
of another so that it can execute
some action
- Example: A computer repeatedly
(every 5 seconds) checks whether a
printer is connected
- Common alternative is interrupts
- Example: When a printer is
connected, an interrupt can be sent
to the CPU to make the computer
aware that it is connected
Scheduling
- Act of assigning tasks to resource
(processor, network interface, graphics
card, etc.)
- Handled by a an OS-based process
called a scheduler.
- Allocates tasks to resources based on
some algorithm (round robin, etc.)
- Goal is to keep all resources busy,
allow users to share resources
effectively, and overall complete all
tasks as quickly and efficiently as
possible
IB Questions