Joe Chung
Monmouth U. Homepage

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====== Computer Architecture Overview ======

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===== What is an OS? =====

  * "A program that acts as an intermediary between a user of a computer and the computer hardware."

{{ :cs438:wheres_an_os.png?150 |}}

===== Two popular definitions for OS =====
 
  * Bottom-up perspective: __resource manager/coordinator__, manage your computer’s resources 
 
  * Top-down perspective: __hardware abstraction layer__, turn hardware into something that applications can use

===== What does hardware provide? =====

   * Seen a glimpse of the functions OS provides

   * But what hardware does it have to work with to provide those functions?

   * Let's take a high level overview of how a typical computer system looks inside
  
   * Different platforms have different chips: phone, PC, your DVD player, etc.

   * But major concepts are the same

===== The x86 Platform =====

   * Many processor architectures: Intel x86, ARM, Oracle Sparc, IBM Power, etc.

   * We’ll use x86 as an exemplar
      * The Android emulator uses an x86 Atom image
      * Familiarity. Lots of online resources.

   * Applies to most other architectures as well (with small differences)
  
   * Besides, most of the OS code we will encounter is architecture agnostic

===== Typical PC Architecture =====

   * One or more CPUs, memory, and device controllers connected through system bus 

{{ :cs438:old_mb.png?350 |}}

===== Computer Organization =====

{{ :cs438:computer_organization.png?700 |}}

===== Computer Organization: Abstract Model =====

{{ :cs438:comp_org_abstract_model.png?600 |}}

   * I/O: communicating data to and from devices
 
   * CPU: digital logic for doing computation
 
   * Memory: N [[http://www.cs.uaf.edu/~cs301/notes/Chapter2/node2.html|words]] of B bits 

===== The Stored Program Computer =====

{{ :cs438:stored_program_computer.png?600 |}}

   * Often called the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann_architecture|"Von Neumann"]] architecture
  
   * Memory holds both __instructions__ and __data__
  
   * CPU interprets instructions
  
   * Instructions read/write data
     * "Instructions" are [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_instruction_listings|CPU-level instructions]]

===== Memory Access =====

{{ :cs438:memory_access.png?600 |}}

   * Memory accesses are __synchronous__
  
   * Instruction stalls while memory is fetched
  
   * Caches are used to reduce the performance hit

===== The Stack =====

{{ :cs438:stack.png?300 |}}

   * For implementing function calls
  
   * Temporary storage area
      * Saved register values, local variables, parameters
  
   * Stack grows "downward" on x86

===== I/O Access =====

{{ :cs438:io_access.png?600 |}}

   * Similar to memory access
  
   * Except different control signals, so I/O devices know to respond (rather than memory)
  
   * IN, OUT instructions are also synchronous

===== Interrupts =====

   * I/O instructions synchronous, but hardware devices can be slow
  
      * Reading from disk (milliseconds), waiting for a keystroke (hours?)
     
      * Should CPU stay idle when waiting for device?
     
      * Interrupts allow CPU to multitask while waiting
     
      * Allows I/O to be __asynchronous__
     
      * Programmable Interrupt Controller (PIC) allows more than one device to interrupt CPU

{{ :cs438:interrupts.png?600 |}}

===== Direct Memory Access =====

{{ :cs438:dma.png?600 |}}

   * DMA allows CPU to do useful work while transferring data between disk and memory
  
   * CPU programs (controls) DMA controller (or device directly)
  
   * DMA controller gets ownership of the bus
  
   * DMA controller produces mem read/write bus signals

===== Symmetric Multiprocessors (SMP) =====

{{ :cs438:smp.png?600 |}}

   * Initially, one CPU starts executing instructions to initialize system
  
   * Thereafter, each CPU executes independently
  
   * Only sharing is through common memory (data structures)
  
   * Each CPU receives interrupts independently through an APIC (Advanced PIC)



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