Presentation
on
Memory hierarchy
By
Tanveer kaur
CSE - C1
URN -
Memory Hierarchy
in Computer
Application
AN OVERVIEW OF MEMORY HIERARCHY IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Introduction
MEMORY HIERARCHY REFERS TO THE ARRANGEMENT OF DIFFERENT
TYPES OF MEMORY IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM, ORGANIZED IN A
HIERARCHY BASED ON SPEED AND COST.
MEMORY HIERARCHY IS AN ENHANCEMENT TO ORGANIZE THE MEMORY
SUCH THAT IT CAN MINIMIZE THE ACCESS TIME. THE MEMORY
HIERARCHY WAS DEVELOPED BASED ON A PROGRAM BEHAVIOR KNOWN
AS LOCALITY OF REFERENCES.
Types of Memory
This Memory Hierarchy Design is divided into 2 Magnetic
main types: disk
• Primary - directly accessible by the
processor Optical
Secondary
• Secondary - accessible by the processor via disk
an I/O Module
Magnetic
tape
Memory
Main
memory
Cache
Primary
memory
CPU
register
The figure below clearly demonstrates the
different levels of the memory hierarchy.
MAGNETIC disk
Magnetic Disk are simply
circular plates that are
fabricated with either a
metal or a plastic or a
magnetized material. The
Magnetic disks work at a
high speed inside the
computer and these are
frequently used.
MAGNETIC TAPE
Magnetic tape is simply a magnetic recording device that is
covered with a plastic film. It is generally used for the backup
of data. In the case of a magnetic tape, the access time for a
computer is a little slower and therefore, it requires some
amount of time for accessing the strip.
In magnetic tape only one side of the ribbon is used for
storing data. It is sequential memory which contains thin
plastic ribbon to store data and coated by magnetic oxide.
Data read/write speed is slower because of sequential
access. It is highly reliable which requires magnetic tape
drive writing and reading data.
Main Memory
(RAM)
MAIN MEMORY ALSO KNOWN AS RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY), IS THE
PRIMARY MEMORY OF A COMPUTER SYSTEM. IT HAS A LARGER STORAGE CAPACITY
THAN CACHE MEMORY, BUT IT IS SLOWER. MAIN MEMORY IS USED TO STORE DATA
AND INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN USE BY THE CPU.
TWO TYPES OF MAIN MEMORY ARE
THERE
Static RAM: Static Ram stores the binary information in flip flops and information remains valid
until power is supplied. It has a faster access time and is used in implementing cache memory.It
is generally large in size.
Dynamic RAM: It stores the binary information as a charge on the capacitor. It requires
refreshing circuitry to maintain the charge on the capacitors after a few milliseconds. It contains
more memory cells per unit area as compared to SRAM.It is generally smaller in size.
Cache Memory
CACHE MEMORY IS A SMALL, FAST MEMORY UNIT LOCATED
CLOSE TO THE CPU. IT STORES FREQUENTLY USED DATA AND
INSTRUCTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RECENTLY ACCESSED FROM THE
MAIN MEMORY. CACHE MEMORY IS DESIGNED TO MINIMIZE THE
TIME IT TAKES TO ACCESS DATA BY PROVIDING THE CPU WITH
QUICK ACCESS TO FREQUENTLY USED DATA.
Registers
REGISTERS ARE SMALL, HIGH-SPEED MEMORY UNITS
LOCATED IN THE CPU. THEY ARE USED TO STORE THE
MOST FREQUENTLY USED DATA AND INSTRUCTIONS.
REGISTERS HAVE THE FASTEST ACCESS TIME AND THE
SMALLEST STORAGE CAPACITY, TYPICALLY RANGING
FROM 16 TO 64 BITS.
Secondary
Storage
SECONDARY STORAGE IS A NON-VOLATILE MEMORY UNIT THAT HAS A LARGER
STORAGE CAPACITY THAN MAIN MEMORY. IT IS USED TO STORE DATA AND
INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN USE BY THE CPU. SECONDARY
STORAGE HAS THE SLOWEST ACCESS TIME AND IS TYPICALLY THE LEAST
EXPENSIVE TYPE OF MEMORY IN THE MEMORY HIERARCHY.
Characteristics of Memory Hierarchy
1. Capacity: It is the global volume of information the memory can store. As we move
from top to bottom in the Hierarchy, the capacity increases.
2. Access Time: It is the time interval between the read/write request and the availability
of the data. As we move from top to bottom in the Hierarchy, the access time
increases.
3. Performance: Earlier when the computer system was designed without a Memory
Hierarchy design, the speed gap increased between the CPU registers and Main
Memory due to a large difference in access time. This results in lower performance of
the system and thus, enhancement was required. This enhancement was made in the
form of Memory Hierarchy Design because of which the performance of the system
increases.
4. Cost Per Bit: As we move from bottom to top in the Hierarchy, the cost per bit
increases i.e. Internal Memory is costlier than External Memory.
