Memory Access Method

Data need to be accessed from the memory for various

purposes.
There are several method to access memory as
listed below:
Sequential access
Direct access
Random access
Associative access

We will study about each of the access method one by

one.

Sequential Access Method

In sequential memory access method,
the memory is accessed in linear sequential way.The
time to access data in this type of method depends on
the location of the data.
Example of sequential access: Magnetic disks, magnetic
tapes, optical memory use sequential access method.
Random Access Method
 In random access method, data from any
location of the memory can be accessed randomly.The
access to any location is not related with its physical
location and is independent of other locations. There is
a separate access mechanism for each location.
Example of random access: Semiconductor memories
like RAM, ROM use random access method.

Direct Access Method

Direct access method can be seen as
combination of sequential access method and random
access method.Magnetic hard disks contain many
rotating storage tracks.
Here each tracks has its own read or write head and
the tracks can be accessed randomly. But access within
each track is sequential.
Example of direct access: Memory devices such as
magnetic hard disks.

Associative Access Method

Associative access method is a special
type of random access method.It enables comparison
of desired bit locations within a word for a specific
match and to do this for all words simultaneously.Thus
based on portion of word's content , word is retrieved
rather than its address.
Example of associative access: Cache memory uses
associative access method.

Types of Memory
RAM
This information on RAM is from PC Magazine, Volume
16, Number 18, October 21, 1997, PC Tech.

An important measurement of RAM performance is

access time, the amount of time that passes between
the instant the CPU issues an instruction to RAM to
read a particular piece of data from a particular
address and the moment the CPU actually receives the
data. Today's RAM chips typically have a 60-ns access
time, which means it takes 60 nanoseconds (a
nanosecond is a billionth of a second) to perform this
round-trip function. This access time is much faster
than that of the 100- to 120-ns chips of a few years
ago, but it's still much slower than the ideal access time
of zero, which would be realizable if the CPU itself
stored all the data. To speed things further, the CPU has
access to cache memory (usually referred to as "the
cache"). At 20 ns or better, cache memory is faster than
main memory, but systems contain less of it than main
memory (cache memory is expensive).

RAM (random-access memory)

This is the umbrella term for all memory that can be
read from or written to in a nonlinear fashion.
However, it has come to refer specifically to chip-based
memory, since all chip-based memory is random-
access. It is not the opposite of ROM. The computer
can read ROM; it can read and write to RAM.
SIMM (single in-line memory module)
DIMM (dual in-line memory module). SIMM and
DIMM refer not to memory types, but to modules
(circuit boards plus chips) in which RAM is packaged.
SIMMs, the older of the two, offer a data path of 32
bits. Because Pentiums are designed to handle a much
wider data path than that, SIMMs must be used in pairs
on Pentium motherboards (they can be used singly on
boards based on 486 or slower processors). DIMMs,
which are of more recent origin, offer a 64-bit path,
which makes them more suitable for use with the
Pentium and other more recent processors. From a
buyer's standpoint, the good news is that one DIMM
will handle the work of two SIMMs and thus can be
used singly on a Pentium motherboard. DIMMs are
more economical in the long run, because you can add
one at a time to your system.
DRAM (dynamic RAM)
Dynamic RAM is the standard main memory type in
computers today and is what you're referring to when
you tell someone your PC has 32MB of RAM. In DRAM,
information is stored as a series of charges in a
capacitor. Within a millisecond of being electronically
charged, the capacitor discharges and needs to be
refreshed to retain its values. This constant refreshing
is the reason for the use of the term dynamic.
FPM RAM (fast page-mode RAM)
Until the advent of EDO RAM (see below), all main
memory found in PCs was of the fast pagemode
variety. That's why the name wasn't well known: There
was no need to state the type, since there was only
one. The access times of FPM RAM dropped as the
technology matured, from 120 ns (nanoseconds) down
to the now-common access time of 60 ns. The Pentium
processor, however, allows for a bus speed of 66 MHz,
which is faster than FPM RAM can keep up with. The
speed of a 60-ns RAM module performing random
page access (where page refers to a region of address
space) is below 30 MHz - far slower than the bus
speed. So DRAM makers came up with the concept of
the RAM cache.
EDO RAM (extended-data-out RAM)
Despite the hype surrounding it, EDO RAM is no
more than another type of FPM RAM. Essentially, it
recognizes that most of the time when the CPU
requests memory for a particular address, it's going to
want some more addresses nearby. Instead of forcing
each memory access to start afresh, EDO RAM hangs
onto the location of the previous access, thereby
speeding access to nearby addresses. EDO RAM speeds
up the memory cycle, with improvements in memory
performance of as much as 40 percent. But EDO is
effective only up to a bus speed of 66 MHz, and that's
quickly being bypassed by the most recent crop of
AMD, Cyrix, and Intel processors.
BEDO RAM (burst extended-data-out RAM)
As the need for faster access to DRAM has increased,
technologies have been developed to provide it. One
such technology is known as bursting, in which large
blocks of data are sent and processed in the form of an
uninterrupted "burst" of smaller units. What this
means to DRAM is that the burst carries details not
only about the address of the first page, but also of the
next few. BEDO RAM can handle four data elements in
one burst, and this allows the final three elements to
avoid experiencing the delays of the first - all the
addresses are ready to be processed. The DRAM is
given the first address, and then can process the rest at
a rate of 10 ns each. BEDO RAM, however, despite its
substantial speed increase, still has difficulty moving
past the 66-MHz bus barrier. BEDO RAM exists because
SDRAM manufacturers were uninterested in pricing
SDRAM to be competitive with EDO RAM; as a result,
more work was done with EDO to add bursting
technologies for speed rivaling that of SDRAM. Hence
BEDO RAM.
SDRAM (synchronous dynamic RAM)
Resources galore are being poured into SDRAM
development, and it has begun making its appearance
in the PC ads. The reason for its increasing popularity is
twofold. First, SDRAM can handle bus speeds of up to
100 MHz, and these are fast approaching. Second,
SDRAM is synchronized with the system clock itself, a
technical feat that has eluded PC engineers until now.
SDRAM technology allows two pages of memory to be
opened simultaneously A new standard for SDRAM is
being developed by the SClzzL Association at Santa
Clara University (California) along with many industry
leaders. Called SLDRAM, this technology improves on
SDRAM by offering a higher bus speed and by using
packets (small packs of data) to take care of address
requests, timing, and commands to the DRAM. The
result is less reliance on improvements in DRAM chip
design, and ideally a lower-cost solution for high-
performance memory. Watch for SLDRAM in the near
future.
SRAM (static random-access memory)
The difference between SRAM and DRAM is that
where DRAM must be refreshed constantly, SRAM
stores data without an automatic refresh. The only
time a refresh occurs, in fact, is when a write command
is performed. If the write command doesn't occur,
nothing in the SRAM changes, which is why it's called
static. The benefit of SRAM is that it's much faster than
DRAM, reaching speeds of 12 ns as compared with
BEDO's 50 ns. The disadvantage is that SRAM is much
more expensive than DRAM. SRAM's most common
use in PCs is in the second-level cache, also called the
L2 cache.
L2 cache
Caching is the art of predicting what data will be
requested next and having that data already in hand,
thus speeding execution. When your CPU makes a data
request, the data can be found in one of four places:
the L1 cache, the L2 cache, main memory, or in a
physical storage system (such as a hard disk). L1 cache
exists on the CPU, and is much smaller than the other
three. The L2 cache (second-level cache) is a separate
memory area, and is configured with SRAM. Main
memory is much larger and consists of DRAM, and the
physical storage system is much larger again but is also
much, much slower than the other storage areas. The
data search begins in the L1 cache, then moves out to
the L2 cache, then to DRAM, and then to physical
storage. Each level consists of progressively slower
components. The function of the L2 cache is to stand
between DRAM and the CPU, offering faster access
than DRAM but requiring sophisticated prediction
technology to make it useful. The term cache hit refers
to a successful location of data in L2, not L1. The
purpose of a cache system is to bring the speed of
accessing memory as close as possible to the speed of
the CPU itself.
Async SRAM (asynchronous SRAM)
Async SRAM has been with us since the days of the
386, and is still in place in the L2 cache of many PCs. It's
called asynchronous because it's not in sync with the
system clock, and therefore the CPU must wait for data
requested from the L2 cache. The wait isn't as long as it
is with DRAM, but it's still a wait.
Sync SRAM (synchronous bursts RAM)
Like SDRAM, Sync SRAM is synchronized with the
system clock, so it's faster than the Async SRAM
commonly used for L2 caches, with speeds of about 8.5
ns. Unfortunately, Sync SRAM isn't being produced in
sufficient quantities to drive its cost down, so it seems
destined for a relatively short life. That's especially true
because it loses the ability to synchronize at bus speeds
higher than 66 MHz. For the new breed of machines,
therefore, let's welcome . . .
PB SRAM (pipeline burst SRAM)
Using burst technology, SRAM requests can be
pipelined, or collected so that requests within the burst
are executed on a nearly instantaneous basis. PB SRAM
uses Pipening, and while it's slightly behind system
synchronization speeds, it's a possible improvement
over Sync SRAM because it's designed to work well
with bus speeds of 75 MHz and higher. Look for PB
SRAM to be a major player in Pentium II systems and
beyond.
VRAM (video RAM)
 VRAM is aimed precisely at video performance, and
you'll find it primarily on video accelerator cards or on
motherboards that incorporate video technology.
VRAM is used to store the pixel values of a graphical
display, and the board's controller reads continuously
from this memory to refresh the display Its purpose is
not only to give you faster video performance than
you'd get with a standard video board, but to reduce
strain on the CPU. VRAM is dual-ported memory; there
are two access ports to the memory cells, with one
used to constantly refresh the display and the other
used to change the data that will be displayed. Two
ports means a doubling of bandwidth, and faster video
performance as a result. By comparison, DRAM and
SRAM have only one access port.
WRAM (Windows RAM)
Like VRAM, WRAM is a dual-ported type of RAM and
it is used exclusively for graphics performance. WRAM
is similar to VRAM in its operation, but it offers a higher
overall bandwidth (roughly 25 percent higher), in
addition to several graphics features that applications
developers can exploit. These include a double-
buffering data system several times faster than VRAM's
buffer, resulting in considerably faster screen refresh
rates.
SGRAM (synchronous graphics RAM)
Unlike VRAM and WRAM, and despite the fact that
its primary use is on video accelerator cards, SGRAM is
a single-ported RAM type. It speeds performance
through a dual-bank feature, in which two memory
pages can be opened simultaneously; it therefore
approximates dual-porting. SGRAM is proving to be a
significant player in 3-D video technology because of a
block-write feature that speeds up screen fills and
allows fast memory clearing. Three-dimensional video
requires extremely fast clearing, in the range of 30 to
40 times per second.

ROM

ROM
Read Only Memory. The data on a ROM is inserted
during its manufacture, and then cannot be changed. A
photosenstitive material is etched to hold the required
bit pattern
PROM
Programmable ROM. Using special equipment, it is
possible to program these chips once. The PROM is
created blank, then the program can be added later.
Once the program has been set it cannot be changed.
EPROM
Erasable PROM. By exposing the EPROM to
ultraviolet light for an extended time (15 minutes), the
EPROM will be reset to all zeros. Then it can be
reprogrammed.
EEPROM
Electrically Erasble PROM. Instead of using ultraviolet
light, these chips can be erased by applying electric
pulses to it. Chips such as these can be used to store
the BIOS of a computer. In this way the BIOS can be
upgraded using a software program, instead of
replacing the chip.
 COA
ASSIGNMENT

CHAMINI G
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