Architecture Examples And Hierarchy
Samuel Njoroge
Architecture Examples and Hierarchy - Overview Architecture Levels Bus interconnection and Bridging Controller chips System Level architecture Board level architecture Chip Level architecture
What are the architectural ranges?Macroscopic – Entire Computer System
Microsocopic – an integrated chip
Some Architectural terms System: This is the complete computer; it includes CPU, memory and
I/O devices. System architecture describes the interconnection of components and buses
Board: Individual circuit board that forms part of a computer. Board architecture describes the interconnection of chips and the interface to the bus
Chip: Individual integrated chip that is used on a circuit board. Chip architecture describes the interconnection of functional units and gates
Bus: Subsystem that transfers data and power between computer components
Functional Unit: An entity of hardware capable of accomplishing specified purpose.
System level Architecture of PC
Functional Units Processor
Memory
I/O Interfaces
Interconnections High Speed Buses: -
For functional units requiring high speed
Low speed buses:
For functional units requiring low seed
Bus Interconnection and Bridging
To interconnect buses we use Bridging With Bridge technology we can have
multiple bridges Bridge technology enables backward
compatibility (.e.g. old I/O devices can be used with new processor
Example of bridging
A processor uses Peripheral Component Interconnect Bus (PCI)
I/O devices uses Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA).
These buses are incompatible and cannot be connected
Solution: use Bridge Technology.
Physical Architecture of Bridge
Design of bridge is complex
The architecture of the Bridge uses special controllers – Controller Chips
Separates high speed and low speed units onto separate chips.
A controller can also provide an illusion of a bus
Example of PC architecture Two Controller chipsA). Northbridge Chip:-
Processor, MemoryAdvanced Graphic port (AGP).
B.) Southbridge Chip:-LAN interface, PCI Bus,Printer and Input Ports
PC controller layout
Board Level Architecture
For Board level Architecture I’ll use an example of a LAN Interface
LAN Interface:Connect computer to a NetworkTransmit data between computers and
networkComprised of an individual circuit board with
Processor and memory.
Board Level Architecture – LAN Interface.
SRAM Highest Speed Used for Instructions.
DRAM Lower Speeds Used for data transfer
Chip Level Architecture – Intel Network Processor
Chip Level Architecture shows us the internal design of an integrated circuit that are concealed in a board level architecture
Example of the functional units on a Chip
Summary
Architecture level of a system can be viewed at several layers of abstraction
System architecture shows the entire computer system
Board Architecture shows individual circuit board Chip architecture shows Individual integrated
circuit Functional unit architecture shows individual
functional unit on integrated circuit.
Works Cited.
http://www.eca.cs.purdue.edu/ http://www.cstp.umkc.edu/~mullinsj/cs282/ Essentials of Computer Architecture
Douglas E. Corner