Computer Architecture: Bus and Memory

What is the primary function of the Memory Address Register (MAR)?

Holds the address of the memory location to be accessed.

What is the purpose of a tri-state buffer in a multi-point bus?

To allow components to drive the bus or enter a high-impedance state, enabling multiple components to share the same bus.

What is the role of the Control Unit in a processor?

Coordinates and manages all CPU operations, generates control signals, interprets instructions, and directs actions.

What is stored in the Memory Buffer Register (MBR) or Memory Data Register (MDR)?

Data to be written to or read from the selected memory location. Signup and view all the answers

What is the fetch-decode-execute cycle in a processor?

The process by which the processor fetches, decodes, and executes instructions stored in main memory. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a memory bank in a computer system?

An array of registers organized as memory, where each register has a unique address. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the Program Counter (PC) register in a CPU?

Contains the memory address of the next instruction to be executed. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of the Memory Address Register (MAR) in a CPU?

Holds the memory address of data or instruction to be accessed. Signup and view all the answers

What type of bus is responsible for transferring data between the CPU and memory or I/O devices?

Data Bus Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of the Condition Code Register (CCR) in a CPU?

Contains status flags indicating the result of the last operation (zero, negative, overflow). Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of the Stack Pointer (SP) register in a CPU?

Points to the top of the stack, used for temporary storage and function call management. Signup and view all the answers

What determines the speed of a CPU's operation?

Clock frequency Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary goal of the routing algorithm in a network?

To minimize the overall delay experienced by packets traversing the network and maximize the total amount of data that can be transferred across the network in a given time. Signup and view all the answers

What are the four types of delays that can occur in a network?

Propagation delay, transmission delay, processing delay, and queuing delay. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary difference between static and dynamic routing?

Static routing uses fixed, manually configured routing tables, while dynamic routing uses automatically updated routing tables based on information exchanged between routers. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main function of a repeater in a network?

To extend the range of a physical medium by regenerating and forwarding signals. Signup and view all the answers

How do switches make forwarding decisions?

Switches use MAC addresses to make forwarding decisions and maintain a MAC address table to map addresses to ports. Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary responsibility of the transport layer?

To manage end-to-end delivery between communicating software processes. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of sequence numbers in the transport layer?

To ensure that packets are reassembled in the correct order at the destination. Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between TCP and UDP?

TCP provides a connection-oriented, reliable, and error-checked service, while UDP provides a connectionless service with limited error control. Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of port numbers in the transport layer?

To direct incoming data to the appropriate application on a single computer. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the checksum in UDP and TCP headers?

To provide basic error detection by calculating a checksum over the header and data. Signup and view all the answers