Week 6

COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM

OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN
ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson the learner will be able to:

Define computer memory system
Identify the different types of memory
Identify the types of cache memory
Understand the design elements and principles of
cache design
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The computer memory is one of the most important

elements in a computer system. It stores data and
instructions required during the processing of data and
output results. Storage may be required for a limited
period of time, instantly or for an extended period of
time. Computer memory refers to the electronic holding
place for instructions and data where the processor can
read quickly.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MEMORY HIERARCHY

The memory is characterised on the basis of two key factors; capacity and
access time. The lesser the access time, the faster is the speed of memory.
The computer uses a hierarchy of memory that is organised in a manner to
enable the fastest speed and largest capacity of memory as shown in
figure.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

TYPES OF MEMORY

In general, the memory is classified into two

categories.

• Primary memory or Main memory.

• Secondary memory or Auxiliary memory.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

PARAMETERS OF MEMORY

The following terms are most commonly used for

identifying comparative behaviour of various memory
devices and technologies.
• Storage Capacity
• Access Modes
• Access Time
• Physical Characteristics
• Permanence of Storage
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

PRIMARY MEMORY(MAIN MEMORY)

The memory unit that communicates directly with

the CPU is called main memory. The primary
memory allows the computer to store data for
immediate manipulation and to keep track of what
is currently being processed. It is volatile in nature,
it means that when the power is turned off, the
contents of the primary memory are lost forever.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

PRIMARY MEMORY(MAIN MEMORY)

Primary memory further classified in two categories.

• RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY (RAM)

• READ-ONLY MEMORY (ROM)
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

TWO CATEGORIES OF RAM

• DYNAMIC
• STATIC
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

THREE CATEGORIES OF ROM

• PROGRAMMABLE ROM (PROM)

• ERASABLE PROGRAMMABLE ROM
(EPROM)
• ELECTRICALLY ERASABLE
PROGRAMMABLE ROM (EEPROM)
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

TIT-BITS

• Flash Memory is a kind of semiconductor-based nonvolatile rewritable

memory. used in digital camera. mobile phone. Printer.etc.
• Virtual Memory is a technique that allows the execution of processes
that are not completely in main memory. One major advantage of this
scheme is that programs can be larger than main memory. This
technique frees programmers from the concems of memory storage
limitations.
• Buffer is a temporary physical storage used to hold data during
execution of process from one place to another.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

SECONDARY MEMORY (AUXILIARY MEMORY/STORAGE DEVICES)

The secondary memory stores much larger amounts of data and

information for extended periods of time. Data in secondary
memory cannot be processed directly by the CPU, it must first be
copied into primary storage i.e…, RAM.
Secondary storage is used to store data and programs when they
are not being processed. It is also non-volatile in nature. Due to
this, the data remain in the secondary storage as long as it is not
overwritten or deleted by the user. It is a permanent storage i.e.,
device.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

SECONDARY MEMORY

SECONDARY MEMORY DEVICES INCLUDE:

MAGNETIC DISKS
• HARD DISK DRIVE
• FLOPPY DISK
• MEMORY STICK
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

SECONDARY MEMORY

OPTICAL DISK
• CD
• DVD
• BLUE-RAY DISK
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

SECONDARY MEMORY

SOLID STATE DISKS

• PEN/FLASH DRIVE
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

COMPACT DISKS (CD)

CDs are categorized into 3 main types:

• CD-ROM (COMPACT DISK – READ ONLY
MEMORY)
• CD-R (COMPACT DISK – RECORDABLE)
• CD-RW (COMPACT DISK – REWRITABLE)
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MAGNETIC TAPE

Magnetic tapes are made of a plastic film-type material

coated with magnetic materials to store data
permanently. Data can be read as well as recorded. It is
usually 12.5 mm to 25 mm wide and 500 m to 1200 m
long. These can store data in a sequential manner. The
data stored in magnetic tape is in the form of tiny
segments of magnetised and demagnetised portion on
the surface of the material.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MEMORY MEASUREMENT

When you use a RAM,ROM. Floppy disk or hard disk. the data is measured using some
unit. In computer terminology. They are called nibble. Bit, Byte, Kilobyte, Megabyte,
Gigabyte, etc.
• Bit It stands for a Binary Digit. Which is either 0 or 1.
• Byte (B) A byte is approximately one character (letter ’a’. number ‘1’. Symbol’?’.
etc…). Also. a group of 8 bits is called a byte.
• Nibble 4 bits make one nibble.
• Kilobyte (KB) In memory. a group of 1024 bytes is called a Kilobyte.
• Megabyte (MB) In memory. a group of 1024 Kilobytes is called a Megabyte. It is
sometimes used . less precisely, to mean 1 million bytes or 1000 KB.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MEMORY MEASUREMENT

• Gigabyte (GB) In memory , a group of 1024 megabytes is called a Gigabyte. It is

sometimes used, less precisely, to mean 1 billion bytes or 1000 MB . Now, a number
of companies manufacture memory chips in terms of Megabyte such as 64 MB, 128
MB, 256 MB, 1.2 GB etc.
• Terabyte (TB) A terabyte , exactly 2 bytes (2 GB).is approximately a trillion (10 )
bytes.
• Petabyte (PB) one petabyte of information equal to 1000 terabytes or 10 bytes.
• Exabyte (EB) One Exabyte of information equal to 1000 petabytes or 10 bytes.
• Zettabyte (ZB) One zettabyte of information equal to 1000 exabytes or 10 bytes.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MEMORY MEASUREMENT

Units of computer memory measurements.

1Bit = Binary Digit
8 Bits = 1 Byte = 2 Nibble
1024 Bytes = 1 KB (Kilobyte)
1024 KB = 1 MB (Megabyte)
1024 MB = 1 GB (Giga Byte)
1024 GB = 1 TB (Terabyte)
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

MEMORY MEASUREMENT

1024 TB = 1 PB (Petabyte)
1024 PB = 1 EB (Exabyte)
1024 EB = 1 ZB (Zettabyte)
1024 ZB = 1 YB (Yottabyte)
1024 YB = 1 ( Brontobyte)
1024 Brontobyte = 1 (Geop Byte)

Bit is the smallest memory measurement unit.

Geop Byte is the highest memory measurement unit.
Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF
CACHE DESIGN

DESIGN ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF CACHE DESIGN

The key elements of cache design are:

Week 4: COMPUTER MEMORY SYSTEM OVERVIEW, CACHE MEMORY, DESIGN ELEMENTS
AND PRINCIPLES OF CACHE DESIGN

REFERENCES

https://www.i-programmer.info/babbages-bag/375-
cache-memory.html
https://www.informationq.com/computer-memory-
overview/
https://quickcse.wordpress.com/2018/08/12/elemen
ts-of-cache-design/