Control unit
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The control unit coordinates the components of a computer system. It fetches the code of all of the instructions in the program. It directs the operation of the other units by providing timing and control signals. All computer resources are managed by the CU. It directs the flow of data between the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the other devices.
The control unit was historically defined as one distinct part of the 1946 reference model of Von Neumann architecture. In modern computer designs, the control unit is typically an internal part of the CPU with its overall role and operation unchanged.
The control unit is the circuitry that controls the flow of data through the processor, and coordinates the activities of the other units within it. In a way, it is the "brain within the brain", as it controls what happens inside the processor, which in turn controls the rest of the computer. The examples of devices that require a control unit are CPUs and graphics processing units (GPUs). The control unit receives external instructions or commands which it converts into a sequence of control signals that the control unit applies to the data path to implement a sequence of register-transfer level operations.
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Hardwired control unit [edit]
Hardwired control units are implemented through use of sequential logic units, featuring a finite number of gates that can generate specific results based on the instructions that were used to invoke those responses. Hardwired control units are generally faster than microprogrammed designs.
Their design uses a fixed architecture — it requires changes in the wiring if the instruction set is modified or changed. This architecture is preferred in reduced instruction set computers (RISC) as they use a simpler instruction set.
The hardwired approach has become less popular as computers have evolved as at one time, control units for CPUs were ad-hoc logic, and they were difficult to design.
Microprogram control unit [edit]
The idea of microprogramming was introduced by Maurice Wilkes in 1951 as an intermediate level to execute computer program instructions. Microprograms were organized as a sequence of microinstructions and stored in special control memory. The algorithm for the microprogram control unit is usually specified by flowchart description.[1] The main advantage of the microprogram control unit is the simplicity of its structure. Outputs of the controller are organized in microinstructions and they can be easily replaced.[2]
Functions of the control unit [edit]
The control unit implements the instruction set of the CPU. It performs the tasks of fetching, decoding, managing execution and then storing results. It may manage the translation of instructions (not data) to micro-instructions and manage scheduling the micro-instructions between the various execution units. On some processors the control unit may be further broken down into other units, such as a scheduling unit to handle scheduling and a retirement unit to deal with results coming from the pipeline; It is the main function of CPU.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Barkalov, Alexander (2009). Logic synthesis for FSM based control units / Alexander Barkalov and Larysa Titarenko. Berlin: Springer. ISBN 978-3-642-04308-6.
- ^ Wiśniewski, Remigiusz (2009). Synthesis of compositional microprogram control units for programmable devices. Zielona Góra: University of Zielona Góra. p. 153. ISBN 978-83-7481-293-1.
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