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Module 1a A Brief History of Computer Architecture

Computer architecture has evolved over four generations from vacuum tubes to integrated circuits and VLSI. Key developments include the stored program concept, transistors replacing vacuum tubes, integrated circuits combining components, and VLSI integrating millions of transistors. Instruction set architecture transitioned from single accumulator to load/store RISC designs. Memory evolved from magnetic cores to various DRAM technologies. Buses like ISA, EISA, PCI, and ports like IDE, SCSI, USB connected components and interfaces.

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Mairos Kunze Bonga
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1K views

Module 1a A Brief History of Computer Architecture

Computer architecture has evolved over four generations from vacuum tubes to integrated circuits and VLSI. Key developments include the stored program concept, transistors replacing vacuum tubes, integrated circuits combining components, and VLSI integrating millions of transistors. Instruction set architecture transitioned from single accumulator to load/store RISC designs. Memory evolved from magnetic cores to various DRAM technologies. Buses like ISA, EISA, PCI, and ports like IDE, SCSI, USB connected components and interfaces.

Uploaded by

Mairos Kunze Bonga
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Brief History of Computer Architecture

Computer Architecture is the field of study of selecting and interconnecting hardware


components to create
computers that satisfy functional performance and cost goals. It refers to those
attributes of the computer system that
are visible to a programmer and have a direct effect on the execution of a program.
Computer Architecture concerns Machine Organization, interfaces, application,
technology, measurement &
simulation that Includes:
l Instruction set
l Data formats
l Principle of Operation (formal description of every operation)
l Features (organization of programmable storage, registers used, interrupts
mechanism, etc.)
In short, it is the combination of Instruction Set Architecture, Machine Organization and
the related hardware.
The Brief History of Computer Architecture

First Generation (1940-1950) :: Vacuum Tube


l ENIAC [1945]: Designed by Mauchly & Echert, built by US army to calculate trajectories for ballistic
shells
during Worls War II. Around 18000 vacuum tubes and 1500 relays were used to build ENIAC, and it was
programmed by manually setting switches
l UNIVAC [1950]: the first commercial computer
l John Von Neumann architecture: Goldstine and Von Neumann took the idea of ENIAC and developed
concept of storing a program in the memory. Known as the Von Neumann's architecture and has been
the
basis for virtually every machine designed since then.
Features:
l Electron emitting devices
l Data and programs are stored in a single read-write memory
l Memory contents are addressable by location, regardless of the content itself
l Machine language/Assemble language
l Sequential execution
Second Generation (1950-1964) :: Transistors

l William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain


invent the transistor that reduce size of computers and
improve reliability. Vacuum tubes have been replaced by
transistors.
l First operating Systems: handled one program at a time
l On-off switches controlled by electronically.
l High level languages
l Floating point arithmetic
Third Generation (1964-1974) :: Integrated Circuits (IC)

l Microprocessor chips combines thousands of


transistors, entire circuit on one computer
chip.
l Semiconductor memory
l Multiple computer models with different
performance characteristics
l The size of computers has been reduced
drastically
Fourth Generation (1974-Present) :: Very Large-Scale Integration
(VLSI) / Ultra Large Scale Integration (ULSI)

l Combines millions of transistors


l Single-chip processor and the single-board
computer emerged
l Creation of the Personal Computer (PC)
l Use of data communications
l Massively parallel machine
Evolution of Instruction Sets

Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) Abstract interface between the Hardware


and lowest-level Software
l 1950: Single Accumulator: EDSAC
l 1953: Accumulator plus Index Registers: Manchester Mark I, IBM 700 series
l Separation of programming Model from implementation:
m 1963: High-level language Based: B5000
m 1964: Concept of a Family: IBM 360
l General Purpose Register Machines:
m 1977-1980: CISC - Complex Instruction Sets computer: Vax, Intel 432
m 1963-1976: Load/Store Architecture: CDC 6600, Cray 1
m 1987: RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computer: Mips, Sparc, HP-PA, IBM
RS6000
Typical RISC:

m Simple, no complex addressing


m Constant length instruction, 32-bit fixed
format
m Large register file
m Hard wired control unit, no need for micro
programming
m Just about every opposites of CISC
Major advances in computer architecture
are typically associated with landmark instruction set designs. Computer
architecture's definition itself has been through bit changes. The following are the main concern for computer
architecture through different times:
l 1930-1950: Computer arithmetic
m Microprogramming
m Pipelining
m Cache
m Timeshared multiprocessor
l 1960: Operating system support, especially memory management
m Virtual memory
l 1970-1980: Instruction Set Design, especially for compilers; Vector processing and shared memory
multiprocessors
m RISC
l 1990s: Design of CPU, memory system, I/O system, multi-processors, networks
m CC-UMA multiprocessor
m CC-NUMA multiprocessor
m Not-CC-NUMA multiprocessor
m Message-passing multiprocessor
2000s: Special purpose architecture, functionally reconfigurable,special
considerations for low power/mobile
processing, chip multiprocessors, memory systems
m Massive SIMD
m Parallel processing multiprocessor
Under a rapidly changing set of forces, computer technology keeps at dramatic
change, for example:
m Processor clock rate at about 20% increase a year
m Logic capacity at about 30% increase a year
m Memory speed at about 10% increase a year
m Memory capacity at about 60% increase a year
m Cost per bit improves about 25% a year
m The disk capacity increase at 60% a year.
A Brief History of Computer Organization

If computer architecture is a view of the whole design with the important characteristics visible to
programmer,
computer organization is how features are implemented with the specific building blocks visible to designer,
such as
control signals, interfaces, memory technology, etc. Computer architecture and organization are closely related,
though not exactly the same.
A stored program computer has the following basic units:
l Processor -- center for manipulation and control
l Memory -- storage for instructions and data for currently executing programs
l I/O system -- controller which communicate with "external" devices:
secondary memory, display devices, networks
l Data-path & control -- collection of parallel wires, transmits data, instructions, or control signal
Computer organization defines the ways in which these components are interconnected and controlled. It is the
capabilities and performance characteristics of those principal functional units. Architecture can have a number
of
organizational implementations, and organization differs between different versions. Such, all Intel x86 families
share
the same basic architecture, and IBM system/370 family share their basic architecture.
The history of Computer Organization

Computer architecture has progressed five generation: vacuum tubes, transistors, integrated circuits, and VLSI.
Computer organization has also made its historic progression accordingly.
The advance of microprocessor ( Intel)
l 1977: 8080 - the first general purpose microprocessor, 8 bit data path, used in first personal computer
l 1978: 8086 - much more powerful with 16 bit, 1MB addressable, instruction cache, prefetch few instructions
l 1980: 8087 - the floating point coprocessor is added
l 1982: 80286 - 24 Mbyte addressable memory space, plus instructions
l 1985: 80386 - 32 bit, new addressing modes and support for multitasking
l 1989 -- 1995:
m 80486 - 25, 33, MHz, 1.2 M transistors, 5 stage pipeline, sophisticated powerful cache and
instruction pipelining, built in math co-processor.
m Pentium - 60, 66 MHz, 3.1 M transistor, branch predictor, pipelined floating point, multiple instructions
executed in parallel, first superscalar IA-32.
m PentiumPro - Increased superscalar, register renaming, branch prediction, data flow analysis,
and speculative execution
l 1995 -- 1997: Pentium II - 233, 166, 300 MHz, 7.5 M transistors, first compaction of micro- architecture,
MMX technology, graphics video and audio processing.
l 1999: Pentium III - additional floating point instructions for 3D graphics
l 2000: Pentium IV - Further floating point and multimedia enhancements
Evolution of Memory

l 1970: RAM /DRAM, 4.77 MHz


l 1987: FPM - fast page mode DRAM, 20 MHz
l 1995, EDO - Extended Data Output, which increases the read cycle
between memory and CPU, 20 MHz
l 1997- 1998: SDRAM - Synchronous DRAM, which synchronizes itself
with the CPU bus and runs at higher
clock speeds, PC66 at 66 MHz, PC100 at 100 MHz
l 1999: RDRAM - Rambus DRAM, which DRAM with a very high
bandwidth, 800 MHz
l 1999-2000: SDRAM - PC133 at 133 MHz, DDR at 266 MHz.
l 2001: EDRAM - Enhanced DRAM, which is dynamic or power-
refreshed RAM, also know as cached DRAM.
Major buses and their features

A bus is a parallel circuit that connects the major components of a computer, allowing
the transfer of electric impulses
form one connected component to any other.
l VESA - Video Electronics Standard Association:
32 bit, relied on the 486 processor to function
l ISA - Industry Standard Architecture:
8 bit or 16 bit with width 8 or 16 bits. 8.3 MHz speed, 7.9 or 15.9 bandwidth accordingly.
l EISA - Extended Industry Standard Architecture:
32 bits, 8.3 MHz, 31.8 bandwidth, the attempt to compete with IBM's MCA
l PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect:
32 bits, 33 MHz, 127.2 bandwidth
l PCI-X - Up to 133 MHz bus speed, 64 bits bandwidth, 1GB/sec throughput
l AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port:
32 bits, 66 MHz, 254,3 bandwidth
Major ports and connectors/interface

l IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics, also know as ATA, EIDE, Ultra ATA, Ultra DMA,
most widely used interface for hard disks
l PS/2 port - mini Din plug with 6 pins for a mouse and keyboard
l SCSI - Small Computer System Interface,
80 - 640 Mbs, capable of handling internal/external peripherals
l Serial Port - adheres to RS-232c spec,
uses DB9 or DB25 connector, capable of 115kb.sec speeds
l Parallel port - as know as printer port,
enhanced types: ECP- extended capabilities port, EPP - enhanced parallel port
l USB - universal serial bus,
two types: 1.0 and 2.0, hot plug-and-play, at 12MB/s, up to 127 devices chain.
2.0 data rate is at 480 bits/s.
l Firewire - high speed serial port, 400 MB/s, hot plug-and-play,
30 times faster than USB 1.0

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