Computer System Organization and Architecture Quiz

Overview of Computer System Organization, Architecture, and Operating System Operations

• The operating system initializes all aspects of the computer system and loads the kernel to start execution.
• Main memory is the only large storage media that the CPU can access directly, typically in the form of DRAM, which is volatile and random-access.
• Secondary storage is an extension of main memory that provides large nonvolatile storage capacity, typically in the form of HDD or SSD.
• Storage systems are organized in a hierarchy based on speed, cost, and volatility, with caching used to copy information into faster storage systems.
• A device driver for each device controller manages I/O and provides a uniform interface between the controller and the kernel.
• Multiprocessing environments must ensure cache coherency to provide the most recent value in all CPUs' caches.
• Direct memory access (DMA) is used for high-speed I/O devices able to transmit information at close to memory speeds.
• Computer systems can be single-processor or multiprocessor, with additional special-purpose processors, such as GPUs, also available.
• Multiprocessor systems can be symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) or asymmetric multiprocessing, and clustered systems work together and share storage.
• Non-uniform Memory Access (NUMA) allows for scaling more effectively by reducing contention for memory, and is more common with servers and high-performance systems.
• Operating systems use bootstrap programs to initialize the system, load the kernel, and start system daemons.
• Multiprogramming organizes jobs so that the CPU always has one to execute, with a subset of total jobs in the system kept in memory and one job selected and run via job scheduling.