ALI HAMAD BAKAR

Memory management Devices

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ticipants:

25 May, 2015
 Memory management Devices 1900

Memory Devices and memory management

Memory Device:

A memory device is the device used to store data and instruction. Computer memory is the
storage space in computer where data is to be processed and instructions required for processing
are stored.

The memory is divided into large number of small parts. Each part is called cell. Each location or
cell has a unique address which varies from zero to memory size minus one.

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For example if computer has 64k words, then this memory unit has 64 * 1024=65536 memory
location. The address of these locations varies from 0 to 65535.

Memory is primarily of two types

 Internal Memory - cache memory and primary/main memory

 External Memory - magnetic disk / optical disk etc.

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Memory management.

memory management is the function responsible for managing the computer's primary memory

The memory management function keeps track of the status of each memory location, either
allocated or free. It determines how memory is allocated among competing processes, deciding
who gets memory, when they receive it, and how much they are allowed. When memory is
allocated it determines which memory locations will be assigned. It tracks when memory is freed
or unallocated and updates the status.

In a memory management there are techniques use for managing the memory.

1. Single contiguous allocation

Single allocation is the simplest memory management technique. All the computer's memory,
usually with the exception of a small portion reserved for the operating system, is available to the
single application. MS-DOS is an example of a system which allocates memory in this way. An
embedded system running a single application might also use this technique.

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A system using single contiguous allocation may still multitask by swapping the contents of
memory to switch among users. Early versions of the Music operating system used this
technique.

2. Partitioned allocation

Partitioned allocation divides primary memory into multiple memory partitions, usually
contiguous areas of memory. Each partition might contain all the information for a specific job
or task. Memory management consists of allocating a partition to a job when it starts and
allocating it when the job ends.

Partitioned allocation usually requires some hardware support to prevent the jobs from
interfering with one another or with the operating system.

Computer memory

Memory is the electronic holding place for instructions and data that your computer's
microprocessor can reach quickly. When your computer is in normal operation, its memory
usually contains the main parts of the operating system and some or all of the application
programs and related data that are being used. Memory is often used as a shorter synonym for
random access memory (RAM). This kind of memory is located on one or more microchips that
are physically close to the microprocessor in your computer. The more RAM you have, the less
frequently the computer has to access instructions and data from the more slowly accessed hard
disk form of storage.

Computer memory can refer to many types of memory within a computer, but, typically, it refers
to random access memory (RAM). It is physically found on computer chips that are inserted onto
the computer’s motherboard. RAM is electronic, rather than mechanical; that is, it does not have
moving parts and therefore data access to it is very fast. Modern computers often have
somewhere between 256 MB (megabytes) and 2 GB (gigabytes) of RAM, although there are, of
course, computers with more or less RAM. RAM is also volatile, meaning that it gets lost when
the computer is switched off.

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RAM – Random Access Memory.

Primary memory

Primary memory is computer memory that a processor or computer accesses first or directly. It
allows a processor to access running execution applications and services that are temporarily
stored in a specific memory location.

Primary memory is also known as primary storage or main memory. Primary memory is a
computer system's volatile storage mechanism. It may be random access memory (RAM), cache
memory and data buses but is primarily associated with RAM.

As soon as a computer starts, primary memory stores all running applications, including the base
operating system (OS), user interface and any user installed and running software utility. A
program/application that is opened in primary memory interacts with the system processor to
perform all application specific tasks. The primary memory in the computer is divided into two
part ROM and RAM

Note: Primary memory is considered faster than secondary memory.

Random Access Memory

A random-access memory device allows data items to be read and written in approximately the
same amount of time, regardless of the order in which data items are accessed

Dynamic RAM

Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) is a type of random-access memory that stores

each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either
charged or discharged; these two states are taken to represent the two values of a bit,
conventionally called 0 and 1. Since even "no conducting" transistors always leak a small
amount, the capacitors will slowly discharge, and the information eventually fades unless the
capacitor charge is refreshed periodically

Dynamic RAM: Cannot retain the data even if constant power supply is there. The life time of
data in it is milliseconds.

Static RAM:

Static Random Access Memory (Static RAM or SRAM) is a type of RAM that holds data in a
static form, that is, as long as the memory has power. Unlike dynamic RAM, it does not need to
be refreshed. SRAM stores a bit of data on four transistors using two cross-coupled inverters.
The two stable states characterize 0 and 1. During read and write operations another two access

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transistors are used to manage the availability to a memory cell. To store one memory bit it
requires six metal-oxide-semiconductorfield-effect transistors (MOFSET). MOFSET is one of
the two types of SRAM chips; the other is the bipolar junction transistor. The bipolar junction
transistor is very fast but consumes a lot of energy. MOFSET is a popular SRAM type. The term
is prononuced "S-RAM", not "sram."

RAM Application
RAM - Random Access Memory, or volatile memory, is used by the system to store data for
processing by a computer's central processing unit (CPU), also known as the processor. RAM
stores the data in memory cells that are arranged in grids much like the cells are arranged in a
spreadsheet, from which data, in the binary form of 1's and 0's, can be accessed and transferred at
random to the processor for processing by the system's software.

The data stored in a hard disk drive (HDD) cannot be accessed at random. Whole sectors,
containing blocks of data, are transferred from a hard disk drive, placed in a large swap file on
the same drive, and only then are selected files transferred to RAM for random access by the
processor, which is itself only performing the instructions of the system's operating system
(usually Windows), and its application software.

When the computer is turned off, all of the data in the RAM memory is lost, hence its alternative
name of volatile memory, whereas all of the data on a hard disk drive is retained permanently
until it is intentionally erased. The motherboard (or mainboard) manual (that should be
provided with a new or a second-hand PC) will provide all of the details about the different types
of supported RAM, and the various combinations of modules per bank for each type that can be
successfully installed.

ROM :Read only memory

In this type of memory the information is stored permanently, it is not lost after the system shuts
down. The advantage of using this memory is that there are some complex functions like
translators that are used repeatedly. These functions are permanently stored in the ROM and
these instructions are hard wired in ROM so the execution is very fast.

ROM is "built-in" computer memory containing data that normally can only be read, not written
to. ROM contains the programming that allows your computer to be "booted up" or regenerated
each time you turn it on. Unlike a computer's random access memory (RAM), the data in ROM
is not lost when the computer power is turned off. The ROM is sustained by a small long-life
battery in your computer.

If you ever do the hardware setup procedure with your computer, you effectively will be writing
to ROM.

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There are different types of ROM . They are described below

Types of ROM

There are four types of ROM: regular ROM, PROM, EPROM and EAROM.

PROM: Programmable random access memory. In this the ROM is programmable but only
once. It’s just like burning a CD using CD recorder. You have a blank CD you can record
whatever you want, after recording you can read it any number of times.

In a strict ROM the device is constructed with the program already inside. But PROM is
produced blank. It is programmed only later. The advantage of using PROM is that a company
can change the program it is going to store whenever they want without loss of hardware.

Erasable programmable ROM (EPROM): This type of PROM can be erased and
reprogrammed a number of times. Here the chip that holds the memory is exposed through a
glass widow. A strong UV light of a particular frequency if shined through this glass window
will erase the EPROM Electrically erasable programmable ROM (EPROM): This PROM can
be reprogrammed under software control.

EPROM stands from electrically programmable ROM. You can erasure the contents of a an
EPROM by submitting it to ultraviolet let for five to ten minutes. The circuits are however
relatively expensive per unit and aren’t pin compatible with PROMS and ROMS, this means that
you have to change a design of the circuit board when you wish to make the final product which
often uses ROMs. EPROMs loose their charge of many years pass by which means that if you
have applications which will run for many years you should choose ROMs or PROMs instead.

Finally there are EAROM which stands for Electrically alterable ROM. These ROMS can be
both written and read. However writing is very slow so it can be considered as a read often
memory. ARoms is an expensive and complex technology and is therefore most often used for
industrial and military applications.

Expanding Memory Capacity

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"Moore's law" is the observation that, over the history of computing hardware, the number of
transistors in a dense integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years. The
observation is named after Gordon E. Moore, co-founder of the Intel Corporation and Fairchild
Semiconductor, whose 1965 paper described a doubling every year in the number of components
per integrated circuit. In 1975, he revised the forecast doubling time to two years His prediction
had proven to be accurate, in part because the law now is used in the semiconductor industry to
guide long-term planning and to set targets for research and development The capabilities of
many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore's law: quality-adjusted
microprocessor prices, memory capacity, sensors and even the number and size of pixels in
digital cameras. All of these are improving at roughly exponential rates as well.

This exponential improvement has dramatically enhanced the effect of digital electronics in
nearly every segment of the world economy. Moore's law describes a driving force of
technological and social change, productivity, and economic growth in the late twentieth and
early twenty-first centuries. The period is often quoted as 18 months because of Intel executive
David House, who predicted that chip performance would double every 18 months (being a
combination of the effect of more transistors and their being faster).

Although this trend has continued for more than half a century, "Moore's law" should be
considered an observation or projection and not a physical or natural law. Doubts about the
ability of the projection to remain valid into the indefinite future have been expressed. For
example, the 2010 update to the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors
predicted that growth would slow around 2013, and Gordon Moore in 2015 foresaw that the rate
of progress would reach saturation: "I see Moore’s law dying here in the next decade or so."
However, The Economist news-magazine has opined that predictions that Moore's law will soon
fail are almost as old, going back years and years, as the law itself, with the time of eventual end
of the technological trend being uncertain

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Word Size Expansion

An improved technique for word size expansion using dual port random access memories
(DPRs) allows multiple integrated circuit chips to be used without introducing erroneous data. A
master chip provides a signal derived from its conflict resolution circuitry to one or more slave
chips. This prevents one or more chips in a word size expansion arrangement from selecting
opposite ports when two access requests arrive simultaneously. An optional address latch input
to the chips allows the retention of the same address hold time parameter for the expanded word
as for a single DPR chip.

Memory Location Expansion

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In computer architecture, a bus (related to the Latin "omnibus", meaning "for all") is a
communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer, or between
computers. This expression covers all related hardware components (wire, optical fiber, etc.) and
software, including communication protocols.[1]

Early computer buses were parallel electrical wires with multiple connections, but the term is
now used for any physical arrangement that provides the same logical functionality as a parallel
electrical bus. Modern computer buses can use both parallel and bit serial connections, and can
be wired in either a multidrop (electrical parallel) or daisy chain topology, or connected by
switched hubs, as in the case of USB.

Computer systems generally consist of three main parts, the central processing unit (CPU) to
process data, main memory to hold the data to be processed, and a variety of peripherals to
communicate that data with the outside world. An early computer might use a hand-wired CPU
of vacuum tubes, a magnetic drum for main memory, and a punch tape and printer for reading
and writing data. In a modern system we might find a multi-core CPU, DDR3 SDRAM for
memory, a hard drive for secondary storage, a graphics card and LCD display as a display
system, a mouse and keyboard for interaction, and a Wi-Fi connection for networking. In both
examples, computer buses of one form or another move data between all of these devices.

In most traditional computer architectures, the CPU and main memory tend to be tightly coupled.
A microprocessor conventionally is a single chip which has a number of electrical connections
on its pins that can be used to select an "address" in the main memory and another set of pins to
read and write the data stored at that location. In most cases, the CPU and memory share
signalling characteristics and operate in synchrony. The bus connecting the CPU and memory is
one of the defining characteristics of the system, and often referred to simply as the system bus.

It is possible to allow peripherals to communicate with memory in the same fashion, attaching
adaptors in the form of expansion cards directly to the system bus. This is commonly
accomplished through some sort of standardized electrical connector, several of these forming
the expansion bus or local bus. However, as the performance differences between the CPU and
peripherals varies widely, some solution is generally needed to ensure that peripherals do not
slow overall system performance. Many CPUs feature a second set of pins similar to those for
communicating with memory, but able to operate at very different speeds and using different
protocols. Others use smart controllers to place the data directly in memory, a concept known as
direct memory access. Most modern systems combine both solutions, where appropriate

Reference

Madnick, Stuart; Donovan, John (1974). Operating Systems. McGraw-Hill Book Company.
ISBN 0-07-039455-5.
Sperry Rand (1970). UNIVAC 1108 Multi-processor System: System Description (PDF).
IBM Corporation (1970). IBM System/360 Operating System: Concepts and Facilities (PDF).

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