ENTERPRISE COMPUTING

Enterprise Computing



Enterprise Computing

Question 1

Hierarchy of Microprocessors

There are many levels of abstraction through which a designer passes when implementing a microprocessor chip set or system. He usually begins by configuring the application for the microprocessor, bus, and peripherals (memory, etc.). Section at a time, he expands the system components into a Register Transfer level diagram, followed by a detailed chip or gate description.

To handle the speed mismatch between processors and DRAM, these chips are likely to associate a non-trivial memory hierarchy to each DRAM bank. In this paper, we assume a per-bank baseline memory hierarchy as in Figure 1-(b). In the figure, the instruction memory hierarchy includes a fast SRAM memory. The data memory hierarchy includes a cache with hardware sequential prefetch of 1 line. The DRAM bank itself is sub-banked and has row and data buffers. For example, Figure 1-(c) shows the DRAM organized into 8 sub-banks, with 10 row buffers, and 2 256-bit data buffers. Unlike in memory-only chips, where the DRAM organization is often limited to standard designs, embedded systems allow many different organizations for the DRAM array. For example, designers can change the width and length of a DRAM sub-bank, and the number of sub-banks. These changes can affect the performance delivered and the energy consumed by DRAM accesses, and the area utilized.

Features

Microprocessors make it possible to put a computer into thousands of items that were traditionally not computer-related. These include large and small household appliances, cars (and their accessory equipment units), car keys, tools and test instruments, toys, light switches/dimmers and electrical circuit breakers, smoke alarms, battery packs, and hi-fi audio/visual components (from DVD players to phonograph turntables.) Such products as cellular telephones, DVD video system and ATSC HDTV broadcast system fundamentally require consumer devices with powerful, low-cost, microprocessors. Increasingly stringent pollution control standards effectively require automobile manufacturers to use microprocessor engine management systems, to allow optimal control of emissions over widely varying operating conditions of an automobile. Non-programmable controls would require complex, bulky, or costly implementation to achieve the results possible with a microprocessor.

A microprocessor control program can be easily tailored to different needs of a product line, allowing upgrades in performance with minimal redesign of the product. Different features can be implemented in different models of a product line at negligible production cost.

Microprocessor control of a system can provide control strategies that would be impractical to implement using electromechanical controls or purpose-built electronic controls. For example, an engine control system in an automobile can adjust ignition timing based on engine speed, load on the engine, ambient temperature, and any observed tendency for knocking - allowing an automobile to operate on a range of fuel grades.

System Integrated With Microsoft's Windows Operating System

The System i55 Servers have the ability to manage Intel-based Windows servers via the Integrated xSeries Servers on the Integrated x Series Adapter. These systems can support up to 60 Integrated xSeries Servers. They also support the attachment of external 1-way to 8-way IBM @server xSeries servers via the high-speed ...