Computer architecture (structural composition)

The structure of a computer is a collection of its functional elements and

connections between them. Elements can be a wide variety of devices - from
the basic logical nodes of a computer to simple circuits. The structure of a
computer is graphically represented in the form of structural diagrams, with the
help of which it is possible to describe the computer at any level of detail.
A computer (computing device) can be represented as a model containing a
central processing unit, memory and input-output devices, connected through
controllers by a bus, through which they exchange information with each other.
The controller is used to control the I / O device and to communicate the device
with the processor and memory (using the computer's I / O bus):

The classical architecture (von Neumann architecture) is one arithmetic logic

unit (ALU) through which the data stream passes, and one control unit (CU)
through which the instruction stream passes - the program. This is a
uniprocessor computer. Main blocks:
1. Central processing unit (CPU): organizes the process of fetching and executing
instructions.
2. Internal memory: stores executable programs of the operating system and
user, as well as data for these programs.
3. Permanent / read-only memory: Stores the computer's bootstrap program
(BIOS) and some peripheral control programs (drivers).
4. Controllers (adapters - adapters) of peripheral devices (peripheral): intended
for coordination of signals and protocols of exchange between the bus system
(interface - bus, see point 8) and interfaces of peripheral devices (points 5-7).
5. Disk (external) memory (external memory, storage - hdd, flash): intended for
storing large amounts of information (solid state
SSD or HDD), as well as for transferring (USB Flash Drive: USB interface, Universal
Serial Bus, with work on most operating systems) to another computer.
Depending on the type of memory, it can be read-only or read-write.
6. Input devices (input): Keyboard - intended for the user to enter alphanumeric
information into the computer. Mouse - designed to point to a certain element
of the image on the monitor and send a task to perform the simplest actions
with it.
7. Output devices: Monitor (display) - designed to display text and graphic
information. Printer (printer) - intended for documenting text and graphic
information on a medium (usually paper).
8. The main groups of system buses (bus) in the communication channel
(interface) of the computer, which connect the processor, memory and
peripheral devices:
1) Address buses: intended for transferring memory addresses to be accessed,
addresses of ports (registers) I / O of peripheral controllers.
2) Data buses: designed to transfer data when exchanging information between
memory and processor, processor and I / O ports, I / O ports and RAM, as well
as for transferring interrupt numbers from the interrupt controller to the
processor.
3) Control buses: designed to transmit various kinds of control signals when
organizing the interaction of computer units.
The architecture of modern computers is based on the trunk-modular principle.
The modular principle allows the user to complete the required computer
configuration and, if necessary, upgrade it. The modular organization of the
system is based on the backbone principle of information exchange. All device
controllers communicate with the microprocessor and RAM via a system data
link called the system bus.
A microprocessor is the central unit of a computer designed to control the
operation of all units and to perform arithmetic and logical operations on data.
To connect different parts of a computing device to each other, they must have
the same interface (interface) - this is a means of connecting two devices, in
which all physical and logical parameters are consistent with each other.
The system bus (backbone) is the main interface system of a computer that
provides interface and communication of all its devices with each other.
Physically, the backbone is a multi-wire line with sockets for connecting
electronic circuits. The collection of trunk wires is divided into separate groups:
address bus, data bus and control bus. The system bus provides three directions
of information transfer:
• between the microprocessor and the main memory;
• between the microprocessor and the input-output ports of external
devices;
• between main memory and input-output ports of external devices.
Each of the functional elements (memory, monitor or other device) is associated
with a certain type of bus - address, control, or data bus. Peripheral devices for
interface matching
are connected to the bus not directly, but through their controllers (adapters)
and ports, approximately according to the following scheme:
Device ports are electronic circuits containing one or more I / O registers and
allowing you to connect computer peripherals to external microprocessor buses.
The serial port (COM) communicates with the processor byte-by-byte, and with
external devices - byte-by-bit. The parallel port (LPT) receives and sends data
byte byte. Serial ports are usually connected to devices that are slow or remote
enough, such as a mouse and modem. Faster devices such as a printer and
scanner are connected to the parallel port. A joystick is connected through the
game port. The keyboard and monitor connect to their dedicated ports, which
are simply connectors. The I / O ports of all devices through the corresponding
connectors (slots) are connected to the bus either directly or through special
controllers (adapters).
Controllers and adapters are sets of electronic circuits that are supplied to
computer devices for the purpose of compatibility of their interfaces. In
addition, the controllers directly control the peripheral devices at the request of
the microprocessor.
The main (internal) memory is designed for storing and online data exchange
with other units of the computer.
Internal memory includes:
1. Random access memory (RAM, RAM, Random Access Memory) is a fast
storage device of not very large size, directly connected to the processor and
designed to write, read and store executable programs and data processed by
these programs ...
RAM is used only for temporary storage of data and programs, because when
the machine is turned off, everything that was in RAM is lost. Direct access to
the elements of RAM - this means that each byte of memory has its own
individual address.
RAM is implemented on DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) chips, which
are characterized by low cost and high specific capacity compared to other types
of memory, but higher power consumption and lower performance. Each
information bit (0 or 1) in the DRAM is stored as a capacitor charge.
Video memory (VRAM) is a type of RAM that stores encoded images. VRAM is
organized so that its content is available to two devices at once - a processor
and a monitor. Therefore, the image on the screen changes at the same time as
the video data in the memory is updated.
2. Cache (cache) or super-operative memory - a very fast memory of a small size,
which is used when exchanging data between the microprocessor and the main
memory to compensate for the difference in the speed of information
processing by the processor and somewhat slower operative memory.
The cache memory is managed by a special device - a controller, which, analyzing
the executable program, tries to foresee what data and instructions the
processor is most likely to need in the near future, and pumps them into the
cache memory.

The first level cache, L1, is a block of high-speed memory located on the
processor core that holds data from RAM. Storing the main instructions in the
L1 cache improves processor performance, since data from the cache is
processed faster than directly interacting with RAM. The L2 cache is a block of
high-speed memory that performs the same functions as the L1 cache, but is
slower and larger in size. L3 cache is usually even larger and slower.
A typical L1 cache can be several hundred kilobytes. If the processor does not
find what it needs in it, it will proceed to checking the second-level cache
(several megabytes in size), and then the third (already occupying tens of
megabytes). If the necessary data is not available in the third-level cache, then
the search will be performed in the RAM, and then in the drives. With each such
"step", not only the amount of available data increases, but also the delay.
The processor can read data in the internal register in just one or two cycles, in
the first-level cache it will take a little more, in the second-level cache already
about ten, and the third - several tens of cycles. If you have to use memory or
storage, then the processor can take tens of thousands, if not millions of cycles.
Depending on the system, each processor core may have its own L1 cache, a
shared L2 cache with another core, and a L3 cache for a group of four or more
cores.
3. Permanent memory (ROM, English ROM, Read Only Memory - read-only
memory) - non-volatile memory used to store data that will never need to be
changed. The content of the memory is specially sewn into the device during its
manufacture for permanent storage. ROM can only be read.
At the moment the computer is turned on, there is nothing in its RAM - neither
data nor programs, since RAM cannot store anything without recharging the
cells for more than hundredths of a second, but the processor needs commands,
including at the first moment after turning on. Immediately after switching on,
the start address is set on the processor address bus. This happens in hardware,
without the participation of programs (always the same). The processor
addresses the set address for its first command and then begins to work
according to programs. This source address cannot point to RAM, which has
nothing in it yet. It points to another type of memory - ROM. The ROM chip is
capable of storing information for a long time, even when the computer is
turned off. Programs located in ROM are called "wired" - they are written there
at the stage of manufacturing a microcircuit. The set of programs located in ROM
forms the basic input-output system (BIOS - Basic Input Output System). The
main purpose of the programs in this package is to check the composition and
operability of the computer system and to provide interaction with the
keyboard, monitor, hard disk and floppy disk drive. The programs included in the
BIOS allow us to observe on the screen diagnostic messages accompanying the
computer startup, as well as interfere with the startup process using the
keyboard.
External memory (HDD, SSD, flash) is used for long-term storage of information
that can be further used to solve problems.
The clock generator generates a sequence of electrical symbols, the frequency
of which sets the clock frequency of the computer. The time interval between
adjacent pulses determines the cycle of the machine.

The clock frequency of the processor (clock frequency) is determined based on

the clock pulses to perform a certain number of basic (arithmetic-logical)
operations that the processor performs per unit of time (1 second). It is
measured in hertz (Hz), the usual units are Megahertz (MHz, MHz) and Gigahertz
(GHz, GHz).
The bit width is determined by the number of bits that can be processed by the
processor in 1 clock cycle (the time interval of data processing by the processor
based on clock pulses). This characteristic defines the architecture of the
computing device: 32-bit, 64-bit.
Memory speed - characterizes the time during which a unit of information stored
in memory can be read from it or written to memory.
Bus bandwidth (bandwidth) - determines the number of bits that can be
transmitted through the bus per unit of time (1 second).
These characteristics together determine the performance (performance,
computing power) of a computing device - even the fastest (in clock frequency)
processor may not be completely (100%) loaded with operations and data, since
the bus has limitations on the bandwidth (the number of transmitted bits ), and
the memory has low performance. Therefore, to improve the performance of
the computing device as a whole, the processor architecture includes a multi-
level high-speed cache memory, into which the most frequently used data is
placed through the bus once.
An example of a processor design:
A core is a physical element of a processor. It is a part of the processor capable
of executing a single stream of instructions. The cores differ in the size of the
cache memory, bus frequency, and manufacturing technology. Unlike two
single-core processors on the same system, sharing only memory, two cores can
also share caches and other resources that are responsible for interacting with
memory.

The main part of the CPU is called the core, it contains all the necessary blocks,
and also performs logical and arithmetic tasks. Kernel functional block:
The monitor screen contains sets of points of three
primary colors - red, green and blue. These colors are
called basic, because their combinations (in various
proportions) can represent any color of the
spectrum. Physically arranged in triangular triads.
The triad forms a pixel - a point from which an image
is formed (English pixel - picture element).
Raster video monitors - screen pixels are processed line by line The points of
each line are processed sequentially in the order of their position on the screen
- after the processing of the points of the next line is completed, processing of
the next line begins, and so on. This sequence forms a path on the surface of the
media, which is called a line raster. a) 1— 2— 3— 4— 5—… progressive raster
(scan); c) 1— 3— 5— 7—…, then 2— 4— 6— 8—… (interlaced scanning).
The screen of liquid crystal monitors is divided into independent cells, each of
which consists of four parts (for three primary colors and one backup). The
number of such cells in the width and height of the screen is called the screen
resolution.