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WorksheetsComputer Architecture Quiz
Total questions: 93
Worksheet time: 47mins
Computer technology is changing at a __________ pace.
Slow
Slow to medium
Rapid
Non-existent
Computer _________ refers to those attributes that have a direct impact on the logical execution of a program.
Organization
Specifics
Design
Architecture
Architectural attributes include __________ .
I/O mechanisms
Control signals
Interfaces
Memory technology used
_________ attributes include hardware details transparent to the programmer.
Interface
Organizational
Memory
Architectural
It is a(n) _________ design issue whether a computer will have a multiply instruction.
Architectural
Memory
Elementary
Organizational
It is a(n) _________ issue whether the multiply instruction will be implemented by a special multiply unit or by a mechanism that makes repeated use of the add unit of the system.
Architectural
Memory
Mechanical
Organizational
A __________ system is a set of interrelated subsystems.
Secondary
Hierarchical
Complex
Functional
An I/O device is referred to as a __________.
CPU
Control device
Peripheral
Register
When data are moved over longer distances, to or from a remote device, the process is known as __________.
Data communications
Registering
Structuring
Data transport
The _________ stores data.
System bus
I/O
Main memory
Control unit
The __________ moves data between the computer and its external environment.
Data transport
I/O
Register
CPU interconnection
A common example of system interconnection is by means of a __________.
Register
System bus
Data transport
Control device
A _________ is a mechanism that provides for communication among CPU, main memory, and I/O.
System interconnection
CPU interconnection
Peripheral
Processor
_________ provide storage internal to the CPU.
Control units
ALUs
Main memory
Registers
The __________ performs the computer's data processing functions.
Register
CPU interconnection
ALU
System bus
The _________ was the world's first general-purpose electronic digital computer.
UNIVAC
MARK IV
ENIAC
Hollerith's Counting Machine
The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer project was a response to U.S. needs during _________.
The Civil War
The French-American War
World War I
World War II
The ENIAC used __________.
Vacuum tubes
Integrated circuits
IAS
Transistors
The ENIAC is an example of a _________ generation computer.
First
Second
Third
Fourth
The __________ interprets the instructions in memory and causes them to be executed.
Main memory
Control unit
I/O
Arithmetic and logic unit
The memory of the IAS consists of 1000 storage locations called __________.
Opcodes
Wafers
VLSIs
Words
The __________ contains the 8-bit opcode instruction being executed.
Memory buffer register
Instruction buffer register
Instruction register
Memory address register
During the _________ the opcode of the next instruction is loaded into the IR and the address portion is loaded into the MAR.
Execute cycle
Fetch cycle
Instruction cycle
Clock cycle
Second generation computers used __________.
Integrated circuits
Transistors
Vacuum tubes
Large-scale integration
The __________ defines the third generation of computers.
Integrated circuit
Vacuum tube
Transistor
VLSI
The use of multiple processors on the same chip is referred to as __________ and provides the potential to increase performance without increasing the clock rate.
Multicore
GPU
Data channels
MPC
With the __________, Intel introduced the use of superscalar techniques that allow multiple instructions to execute in parallel.
Core
8080
80486
Pentium
The __________ measures the ability of a computer to complete a single task.
Clock speed
Speed metric
Execute cycle
Cycle time
ARM processors are designed to meet the needs of _________.
Embedded real-time systems
Application platforms
Secure applications
All of the above
One increment, or pulse, of the system clock is referred to as a _________.
Clock tick
Cycle time
Clock rate
Cycle speed
At a top level, a computer consists of CPU, memory, and I/O components.
True
False
The basic function of a computer is to execute programs.
True
False
Program execution consists of repeating the process of instruction fetch and instruction execution.
True
False
Interrupts do not improve processing efficiency.
True
False
An I/O module cannot exchange data directly with the processor.
True
False
A key characteristic of a bus is that it is not a shared transmission medium.
True
False
Interrupts do not improve processing efficiency.
True
False
An I/O module cannot exchange data directly with the processor.
True
False
A key characteristic of a bus is that it is not a shared transmission medium.
True
False
Computer systems contain a number of different buses that provide pathways between components at various levels of the computer system hierarchy.
True
False
In general, the more devices attached to the bus, the greater the bus length and hence the greater the propagation delay.
True
False
It is not possible to connect I/O controllers directly onto the system bus.
True
False
The method of using the same lines for multiple purposes is known as time multiplexing.
True
False
Timing refers to the way in which events are coordinated on the bus.
True
False
With asynchronous timing the occurrence of events on the bus is determined by a clock.
True
False
Because all devices on a synchronous bus are tied to a fixed clock rate, the system cannot take advantage of advances in device performance.
True
False
The unit of transfer at the link layer is a phit and the unit transfer at the physical layer is a flit.
True
False
A key requirement for PCIe is high capacity to support the needs of higher data rate I/O devices such as Gigabit Ethernet.
True
False
Virtually all contemporary computer designs are based on concepts developed by __________ at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton.
John Maulchy
John von Neumann
Herman Hollerith
John Eckert
The von Neumann architecture is based on which concept?
Data and instructions are stored in a single read-write memory
The contents of this memory are addressable by location
Execution occurs in a sequential fashion
All of the above
A sequence of codes or instructions is called __________.
Software
Memory
An interconnect
A register
The processing required for a single instruction is called a(n) __________ cycle.
Execute
Fetch
Instruction
Packet
A(n) _________ is generated by a failure such as power failure or memory parity error.
I/O interrupt
Hardware failure interrupt
Timer interrupt
Program interrupt
A(n) _________ is generated by some condition that occurs as a result of an instruction execution.
Timer interrupt
I/O interrupt
Program interrupt
Hardware failure interrupt
The interconnection structure must support which transfer?
Memory to processor
Processor to memory
I/O to or from memory
All of the above
A bus that connects major computer components (processor, memory, I/O) is called a __________.
System bus
Address bus
Data bus
Control bus
The __________ are used to designate the source or destination of the data on the data bus.
System lines
Data lines
Control lines
Address lines
The data lines provide a path for moving data among system modules and are collectively called the _________.
Control bus
Address bus
Data bus
System bus
A __________ is the high-level set of rules for exchanging packets of data between devices.
Bus
Protocol
Packet
QPI
Each data path consists of a pair of wires (referred to as a __________) that transmits data one bit at a time.
Lane
Path
Line
Bus
The _________ receives read and write requests from the software above the TL and creates request packets for transmission to a destination via the link layer.
Transaction layer
Root layer
Configuration layer
Transport layer
The TL supports which of the following address spaces?
Memory
I/O
Message
All of the above
The QPI _________ layer is used to determine the course that a packet will traverse across the available system interconnects.
Link
Protocol
Routing
Physical
No single technology is optimal in satisfying the memory requirements for a computer system.
True
False
A typical computer system is equipped with a hierarchy of memory subsystems, some internal to the system and some external.
True
False
External memory is often equated with main memory.
True
False
The processor requires its own local memory.
True
False
Cache is not a form of internal memory.
True
False
The unit of transfer must equal a word or an addressable unit.
True
False
Both sequential access and direct access involve a shared read-write mechanism.
True
False
In a volatile memory, information decays naturally or is lost when electrical power is switched off.
True
False
To achieve greatest performance the memory must be able to keep up with the processor.
True
False
Secondary memory is used to store program and data files and is usually visible to the programmer only in terms of individual bytes or words.
True
False
The L1 cache is slower than the L3 cache.
True
False
With write back updates are made only in the cache.
True
False
It has become possible to have a cache on the same chip as the processor.
True
False
All of the Pentium processors include two on-chip L1 caches, one for data and one for instructions.
True
False
Cache design for HPC is the same as that for other hardware platforms and applications.
True
False
__________ refers to whether memory is internal or external to the computer.
Location
Access
Hierarchy
Tag
Internal memory capacity is typically expressed in terms of _________.
Hertz
Nanos
Bytes
LOR
For internal memory, the __________ is equal to the number of electrical lines into and out of the memory module.
Access time
Unit of transfer
Capacity
Memory ratio
"Memory is organized into records and access must be made in a specific linear sequence" is a description of __________.
Sequential access
Direct access
Random access
Associative
individual blocks or records have a unique address based on physical location with __________.
Associative
Physical access
Direct access
Sequential access
For random-access memory, __________ is the time from the instant that an address is presented to the memory to the instant that data have been stored or made available for use.
Memory cycle time
Direct access
Transfer rate
Access time
The ________ consists of the access time plus any additional time required before a second access can commence.
Latency
Memory cycle time
Direct access
Transfer rate
A portion of main memory used as a buffer to hold data temporarily that is to be read out to disk is referred to as a _________.
Disk cache
Latency
Virtual address
Miss
A line includes a _________ that identifies which particular block is currently being stored.
Cache
Hit
Tag
Locality
__________ is the simplest mapping technique and maps each block of main memory into only one possible cache line.
Direct mapping
Associative mapping
Set associative mapping
None of the above
When using the __________ technique all write operations made to main memory are made to the cache as well.
Write back
LRU
Write through
Unified cache
The key advantage of the __________ design is that it eliminates contention for the cache between the instruction fetch/decode unit and the execution unit.
Logical cache
Split cache
Unified cache
Physical cache
The Pentium 4 _________ component executes micro-operations, fetching the required data from the L1 data cache and temporarily storing results in registers.
Fetch/decode unit
Out-of-order execution logic
Execution unit
Memory subsystem
In reference to access time to a two-level memory, a _________ occurs if an accessed word is not found in the faster memory.
Miss
Hit
Line
Tag
A logical cache stores data using __________.
Physical addresses
Virtual addresses
Random addresses
None of the above
