Von Neumann introduced the stored program concept, in which the program
itself is stored in the computer’s memory. This turned out to be a very important
idea in the development of modern computers.
Von Neumann Architecture
Von Neumann architecture was first published by John von Neumann in 1945.
His computer architecture design consists of a Control Unit, Arithmetic and
Logic Unit (ALU), Memory Unit, Registers and Inputs/Outputs.
Von Neumann architecture is based on the stored-program computer concept,
where instruction data and program data are stored in the same memory. This
design is still used in most computers produced today.
Central Processing Unit (CPU)
The Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the electronic circuit responsible for
executing the instructions of a computer program.
It is sometimes referred to as the microprocessor or processor.
The CPU contains the ALU, CU and a variety of registers.
Registers
Registers are high speed storage areas in the CPU. All data must be stored in
a register before it can be processed.
Memory
MAR Address Holds the memory location of data that needs to be accessed
Register
Memory Data
MDR Holds data that is being transferred to or from memory
Register
AC Accumulator Where intermediate arithmetic and logic results are stored
Program
PC Contains the address of the next instruction to be executed
Counter
Current
CIR Instruction Contains the current instruction during processing
Register
Arithmetic and Logic Unit (ALU)
The ALU allows arithmetic (add, subtract etc) and logic (AND, OR, NOT etc)
operations to be carried out.
Control Unit (CU)
The control unit controls the operation of the computer’s ALU, memory and
input/output devices, telling them how to respond to the program instructions
it has just read and interpreted from the memory unit.
The control unit also provides the timing and control signals required by other
computer components.
Buses
Buses are the means by which data is transmitted from one part of a computer
to another, connecting all major internal components to the CPU and memory.
A standard CPU system bus is comprised of a control bus, data
bus and address bus.
Address Carries the addresses of data (but not the data) between the processor
Bus and memory
Carries data between the processor, the memory unit and the input/output
Data Bus
devices
Carries control signals/commands from the CPU (and status signals from
Control Bus other devices) in order to control and coordinate all the activities within
the computer
Memory Unit
The memory unit consists of RAM, sometimes referred to as primary or main
memory. Unlike a hard drive (secondary memory), this memory is fast and
also directly accessible by the CPU.
RAM is split into partitions. Each partition consists of an address and its
contents (both in binary form).
The address will uniquely identify every location in the memory.
Loading data from permanent memory (hard drive), into the faster and directly
accessible temporary memory (RAM), allows the CPU to operate much quicker.
Advantages of Von Neumann Architecture
Here are some advantages of the Von Neumann architecture:
• Control Unit retrieves data and instruction in the same manner from
one memory. Design and development of the Control Unit is
simplified, cheaper and faster.
• Data from input / output devices and from memory are retrieved in
the same manner.
• Organisation of memory is done by programmers which allows them
to utilise the memory’s whole capacity.
Disadvantages of Von Neumann Architecture
Here are some disadvantages of the Von Neumann architecture:
• Parallel implementation of program is not allowed due to sequential
instruction processing.
• Von Neumann bottleneck – Instructions can only be carried out one at
a time and sequentially.
• Risk of an instruction being rewritten due to an error in the program.
