Chapter 4

Information Systems Hardware

4.1 Organization of Computer Systems

Almost all computer systems have a similar, rather simple, structure consisting of a
processor, main memory, and peripheral devices such as secondary storage, and
input and output devices.

What is the Structure of a Computer System? [Figure 4.1][Slide 4-1]

A computer system is a set of devices that can accept and store programs and data,
execute programs by applying their instructions to the data, and reporting the
results.

Figure 4.1 explains the general organization of computer system hardware. The
principal components of a computer system are the processor, main memory, input
and output devices, and secondary storage. Stress to students that the same
organization is used to build a microcomputer for a desktop or for a mainframe.

The Processor (CPU)

The central processing unit is the most important hardware component of a

computer system. It is known as the CPU, the central processor or instruction
processor, and the main microprocessor in a microcomputer. Data is processed and
stored in a computer system through the presence or absence of electronic or
magnetic signals in the computer's circuitry of the media it uses. This is called
a Atwo-state or binary representation of data, since the computer and media can
exhibit only two possible states or conditions (1s and 0s).

The CPU can be divided into two major subunits which include the arithmetic-
logic unit (ALU) which performs the arithmetic and logic functions required in
processing and the control unit which interprets computer program instructions and
transmits directions to the other components of the computer system.

Main Memory [Figure 4.2][Slide 4-4]

The main memory is a fast electronic component of the computer system that
serves to store programs to be executed by the CPU and the data these programs
require. A main memory consists of a large number of locations, identified by their
addresses, as shown in Figure 4.2.

A bit is the smallest element of data, (binary digit) which can have a value of zero
or one. The capacity of memory chips is usually expressed in terms of bits,
whereas a byte is the basic grouping of bits that the computer operates as a single
unit. It typically consists of 8 bits and is used to represent one character of data in
most computer coding schemes (e.g., 8 bits = 1 byte). The capacity of a computer's
memory and secondary storage devices is usually expressed in terms of bytes.
A word is the largest number of consecutive bytes that can be accessed at one time
in the main memory.

Commonly used codes for representing characters in computer systems through

various arrangements of bits are:

1. ACSII (American Standard Code for Information Exchange)

2. EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) - pronounced:

EB SEE DICK

Multimedia computing integrates various media, such as text, graphics, sound, and
video, is becoming more popular and therefore, images are often stored as well. A
memory representation of an image is the equivalent of a grid of dots
called pixels (picture elements).

The primary storage (main memory) on most modern computers consists of

microelectronic semiconductor memory circuits, referred to as RAM (random
access memory). Memory chips with capacities of 256K bits, 1 megabit, 4
megabits, 16 megabits, and 32 megabits are now being used in many computers.

Advantages of semiconductor memory are:

1. Small size

2. Fast speed

3. Shock and temperature resistance

4. Reasonably low cost due to mass production.

Disadvantage of semiconductor memory are:

1. Volatility (uninterrupted electric power must be supplied or the contents of
memory will be lost (except with read only memory, which is permanent)).

Two basic types of semiconductor memory:

1. Random Access Memory (RAM):

- these memory chips are the most widely used primary storage mediums. Each
memory position can be both read and written, so it is also called read/write
memory. This is a volatile memory.

2. Read Only Memory (ROM):

- Nonvolatile random access memory chips are used for permanent storage. ROM
can be read but not erased or overwritten. Instructions and programs in primary
storage can be permanently "burned in" to the storage cells during manufacturing.

Peripherals

Secondary storage devices (such as disks and tape drives), along with input and
output devices are called peripherals, input and output devices transfer programs
and data between the outside world and the main memory.

4.2 Computer Categories: Microcomputers, Mainframes, and

Supercomputers

Computer system hardware is now available in a spectacular variety of capabilities

and costs. The relative cost of hardware as compared to software has declined no
less impressively. The challenge consists in using information technology to
increase operational efficiency and managerial effectiveness, and, ultimately, to
deploy it to seek competitive advantage.

What are the Categories of Computers:

Computer systems have evolved through several major stages or generations. Each
generation is characterized by major changes in technology and processing power.
As well, each generation has become smaller, faster, more reliable, and less costly
to purchase and maintain. The principal characteristic of a computer generation is
the fundamental technology employed to build computer circuits. Very large-scale
integration (VLSI) made it feasible to place millions of semiconductor devices on
a single silicon chip. This translates into the high speeds of processor chips and the
high capacities of memory chips.

Computer Generations: [Figure 4.3]

Generation Time Period Based On

First generation 1951-1958 Vacuum tubes

Second generation 1959-1963 Transistors

Third generation 1964-1979 Integrated circuits

Fourth generation 1979-present LSI/VLSI (large scale integration)

Fifth generation 1990s

Computer systems are typically classified in four categories: [Figure 4.3]

1. Microcomputers

2. Minicomputers (midrange) computers

3. Mainframe computers

4. Supercomputers.

Microcomputers [Figure 4.4][Slide 4-5]

Microcomputers are the smallest but most important categories of computers

systems for end users. They are also referred to as personal computers (or PC's).
The computing power of current microcomputers exceeds that of the mainframe
computers of previous generations at a fraction of their cost. They have become
powerful professional and technical workstations being used by end users in
businesses and other organizations such as industrial design where high-resolution
graphic processing is required.

Some microcomputers and almost all technical workstations are now built around
microprocessors called reduced instruction set computers (RISC). RISC
processors optimize a CPU=s processing speed by using a smaller number
instruction set. Basically, this means that they use a smaller number of the basic
machine instructions that a processor is capable of executing. By keeping the
instruction set simpler and using more complex software, RISC processors can
reduce the time needed to execute program instructions. The majority of popular
computers use CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer).

Microcomputers Microcomputers Microcomputers

categorized by size categorized by use categorized by special purpose

1. Handheld 1. Home 1. Personal Digital Assistants

2. Notebook 2. Personal 2. Network Computers

3. Laptop 3. Professional

4. Portable 4. Workstation

5. Desktop 5. Multiuser

6. Floor-standing

Minicomputers (midrange)

Minicomputers entered the business scene from scientific and engineering

applications.

1. Are general purpose computers that are larger and more powerful than most
microcomputers but are smaller and less powerful than most large mainframes.

2. Are often used as dedicated processors for computer-assisted design (CAD) or

on-line transaction processing (OLTP), where real-time demands of fast response
have to be met.

3. Often employed as corporate computers in mid-size organizations or as

departmental computers in larger firms, where they communicate with personal
computers on the one hand and with corporate mainframes on the other.

4. Cost less to buy and maintain than mainframe computers.

5. Can function in ordinary operating environments (do not need air conditioning
or electrical wiring).
6. Smaller models of minicomputers do not need a staff of specialists to operate
them.

Applications:

1. Used for a large number of business and scientific applications (scientific

research, instrumentation systems, engineering analysis, and industrial process
monitoring and control)

2. Serve as industrial process-control and manufacturing plant computers, and they

play a major role in computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), and computer-aided
design (CAD) applications.

3. Used as front-end computers to help mainframe computers control data

communications networks and large numbers of data entry terminals.

4. Are popular as powerful network servers in department, offices, and work sites.

Mainframes

The traditional sharp distinction between minicomputers and mainframes is

becoming cloudy. However, mainframes are still considered the largest computers
in general use.

1. Are large, powerful computers that are physically larger and more powerful than
micros and minis.

2. Usually have one or more central processors with faster instruction processing
speeds (MIPS).

3. Have large primary storage capacities.

4. Can support more input/output and secondary storage devices.

5. Can support hundreds of users concurrently.

6. Cost more to buy and maintain than mini computers.

7. Most mainframe computers need to operate in special environments (air

conditioning and special wiring)

8. Professionals are required to operate them.

Applications:

1. Handle the information processing needs of government agencies and business

organizations with many employees and customers

2. Handle enormous and complex computational problems.

3. Act as host computers for distributed processing networks that include smaller
computers. Used in National and International computing networks.

Supercomputers

Are a special category of extremely powerful mainframe computer systems

specifically designed for high-speed numeric computations. They are capable of
carrying out billions of arithmetic operations per second. Supercomputers, exploit
several design approaches, all based on parallel processing at some level of
computer design. In parallel processing, impressive speeds are achieved by
performing a large number of operations simultaneously.

Traditional supercomputing is being successfully challenged by massively

parallel computing - systems that last together hundreds, or even thousands, of
microprocessors.

Applications:

1. Government agencies

2. Military defence systems

3. National weather forecasting agencies

4. Large timesharing networks

5. Major corporations.

4.3 Secondary Storage

Secondary storage is used for long term (permanent) storage of data and programs.
Secondary storage devices include magnetic disks and tape units. Before the
contents of secondary storage can be processed, they must be brought into the
primary (main) storage units. Magnetic technologies (disks and tapes) are now
being challenged by optical disks for use as secondary storage devices.
Memory Hierarchy

A demand for computer memory has grown steadily throughout the history of
computers. A variety of memory technologies offer a tradeoff between high speed
on the one hand and low costs and high capacity on the other. Computer memories
are therefore organized into a hierarchy. Explanation of memory hierarchy:

Semiconductor Memories: [Figure 4.8][Slide 4-6]

1. At the top of this hierarchy, the fastest memory units are

actually registers included in the CPU, where data are brought in to be
manipulated by the ALU which performs the arithmetic and logic functions
required in processing. The registers in the CPU are specialized circuits which are
used for high-speed, temporary storage of instruction or data elements during the
execution of an instruction.

2. Cache memory is a high-speed temporary storage area in the CPU for storing
parts of a program or data during processing.

3. Main memory is used to store the programs currently being processed, as well
as the data they currently need or produce.

4. Semiconductor memory is volatile - their contents are lost when power is turned
off.

Advantages of semiconductor memory are:

1. Small size

2. Fast speed

3. Shock and temperature resistance

4. Reasonably low cost due to mass production.

Disadvantage of semiconductor memory are:

1. Volatility (uninterrupted electric power must be supplied or the contents of

memory will be lost (except with read only memory, which is permanent)).

Secondary Storage (lower stages of the memory hierarchy)

Magnetic disk or erasable optical disk & Magnetic tape or nonerasable optical disk

1. These devices offer nonvolatile, permanent means of storing large volumes of

programs and data.

2. To be used by the processor, these programs and data items must first be
transferred to the main memory.

3. These devices offer nonvolatile, permanent means of storing large volumes of

programs and data.

4. The principal device for on-line storage today is the magnetic disk. The medium
used for archival storage is magnetic tape. Optical disks suffer from the
disadvantage of slower speeds, but their higher storage capacities make them a
competitor of the magnetic media as a means for secondary storage.

Computer storage elements: [Table 4.3]

Bit The smallest element of data, (binary digit) which can have a value of zero or
one. The capacity of memory chips is usually expressed in terms of bits.

Byte Is the basic grouping of bits that the computer operates as a single unit. It
typically consists of 8 bits and is used to represent one character of data in most
computer coding schemes (e.g., 8 bits = 1 byte) . The capacity of a computer=s
memory and secondary storage devices is usually expressed in terms of bytes.

Kilobytes Is a measurement of storage capacity. Abbreviated as KB or K = one

thousand bytes (1,024 or 210)

E.g., 640K = 640 x 1024 = 655,360 NOT 640,000

Megabytes Is a measurement of storage capacity. Abbreviated as MB or M = one

million bytes (1,024 or 220)

Gigabyte Is a measurement of storage capacity. Abbreviated as GB or G = one

billion bytes (1,024 or 230)

Terabyte Is a measurement of storage capacity. Abbreviated as TB or T = one

trillion bytes ((1,024 or 240)

Magnetic Disks
Magnetic disks are secondary storage devices that afford the capability of both
direct (random) and sequential access to records. Sequential access means that all
records must be accessed in the sequence in which they are stored until the desired
record is reached. Direct access to a record means that the record can be accessed
by its disk address, without the need to access any intermediate records.

Advantages of magnetic disk storage:

1. Fast access

2. High storage capacities

3. Reasonable cost.

The two basic types of magnetic disk media are:

1. Conventional (hard) metal disks

2. Flexible (floppy) diskettes.

Magnetic Disks are thin metal or plastic disks that are coated on both sides with an
iron oxide recording material. They record data on circular tracks in the form of
tiny magnetized sports representing binary digits. All tracks with equal radiuses on
a disk make up a cylinder. A disk surface is divided into pie-shared sectors.

There are several types of magnetic disk arrangements, including removable disk
packs and cartridges as well as fixed disk units. The removable disk devices are
popular because they can be used interchangeable in magnetic disk units and stored
offline for convenience and security when not in use.

Floppy Disks: A small plastic disk coated with iron oxide that resembles a small
phonograph record enclosed in a protective envelope. It is a widely used form of
magnetic disk media that provides a direct access storage capability for
microcomputer systems.

Hard Disk Units: A combination of magnetic disks coated with iron oxide, and
sealed into a module. These nonremovable devices allow higher speeds, greater
data-recording densities, and closer tolerances within a sealed, more stable
environment.
RAID: Large-capacity mainframe disk drives are being challenged by disk arrays
of interconnected microcomputer hard disk drives to provide many gigabytes of
online storage. RAID (Redundant arrays of inexpensive disks).

Advantages:

1. Provide large capacities with high access speeds since data is accessed in
parallel over multiple paths from many disks.

2. Provide fault tolerant capability, since their redundant design offers multiple
copies of data on several disks. If one disk fails, data can be recovered from
backup copies automatically stored on other disks.

Magnetic Tape

Magnetic Tape is a plastic tape with a magnetic surface on which data can be
stored by selective magnetization of portions of the surface. Magnetic tape has an
obvious limitation - it permits only sequential access. However, it is the least
expensive of the commonly used storage media and is widely used to back up
magnetic disks, although it has also been employed for on-line secondary storage
in the batch applications of many legacy systems.

Optical Disks

Optical technologies, which offer far higher storage densities and thus far higher
capacities than magnetic devices, are revolutionizing secondary storage. Most
exciting is the expansion of computer capabilities in the direction of multimedia.

Optical disks offer direct access to information. The technology is based on using a
laser to read tiny spots on a plastic disk. The disks are currently capable of storing
billions of characters of information. The main disadvantage is slower access as
compared to magnetic disks.

CD-ROM

A most common type of optical disk used on microcomputers. There are used for
read only storage. Storage is more than 600 megabytes per disk. This is equivalent
of more than 400 (1.44 megabyte floppy) disks or 300,000 double-spaced pages of
text. Data are recorded as microscopic pits in a spiral track, and are read using a
laser device.
WORM - Write Once, Read Many.

The data is stored once on the disk, however, it can be read an infinite number of
times. They are used mainly to store archival information.

Disadvantage of CD-ROM, WORM:

1. Recorded data cannot be erased.

Major use of optical disks in mainframe and midrange systems is:

1. Image processing, where long-term archival storage of historical files of

document images must be maintained.

Major use of CD-ROM disks is:

1. Provide companies with fast access to reference materials in a convenient,

compact form.

2. Interactive multimedia applications in business, education, and entertainment.

Multimedia is the use of a variety of media, including text and graphics displays,
voice, music, and other audio, photographs, animation, and video segments.

Erasable Optical Disks

Erasable optical disks are full-fledged competitors of magnetic disks. Their access
time is slower than magnetic disks. However, their capacities are high for a
microcomputer configuration. They offer unlimited capacity because the cartridge
is removable, and they also can be securely stored away from the compute

4.4 Input Devices

More and more data and instructions are entered into a computer system directly
through input devices such as keyboards, electronic mice, pens, touch screens,
optical scanning wands etc.

Keyboards

The keyboard is the principal input device in virtually all microcomputers. A

variety of special-purpose keyboards are used for data input in various
applications, such as securities trading or fast-food outlets.
The general trend is away from keyboarding and toward direct capture of data at
the source with devices for source data automation: the use of input technologies
that capture data in a computer-readable form as the data are created.

Pointing Devices:

Pointing devices allow end users to issue commands or make choices by moving a
cursor on the display screen. Pointing devices such as the mouse enables users to
easily choose from menu selections and icon displays using point-and-
click or point-and-drag methods. Icons - are small figures that look like familiar
devices. E.g., file folders, wastebaskets, calculators, calendars etc. Using icons
helps simplify computer use since they are easier to use with point devices than
menus and other text-based displays.

Devices for Direct Date Entry [Figures 4.11 & 4.12]

Image Scanners: Input device that digitizes and enters into computer memory
images of figures, photographs, or signed documents.

OCR Scanner: Optical Character Recognition Scanners consist of a combination

of hardware and software that can recognize printed or typed text and various
codes and enter the corresponding characters into computer memory.

Bar-Code Scanner Input device that reads bar code.

Smart Card Plastic cards that carries data on a built-in semiconductor chip, or on a
laser-optic or magnetic strip.

Voice Data Entry Relying on the devices that can accept spoken input.

4.5 Output Devices

The principal output devices are video displays for soft-copy and printers for hard-
copy output.

Video Displays

Video displays are the most common type of computer output. Most video displays
use a cathode ray tube (CRT) technology. Liquid crystal displays (LCD's) are
commonly used for portable microcomputers and terminals. They use less
electricity that the CRT and provide a thin, flat display. Plasma display - use
electrically charged particles of gas (plasma) trapped between glass plates. They
are significantly more expensive than CRT and LCD units. However, they use less
power and provide for faster display speed and better quality displays.

An X-terminal can be utilized by a user from a workstation other than their own.
An X terminal has a limited processing capability, is used to access services
provided by other computers to which it is connected. Such a terminal includes a
keyboard and a mouse, but no disk drive, and gives its user a window-type
interface.

Printers and Other Hard-Copy Output Devices

After video displays, printed output is the most common form of visual output for
the user interface. Most computers use printers to produce permanent (hard copy)
output in human-readable form.

Impact Printers

Are printers that form characters and other images on paper through the impact of
a printing mechanism that presses a printing element and an inked ribbon or roller
against the face of a sheet of paper (e.g., dot matrix printers, high-speed line
printers).

Non-Impact Printers

Are printers which do not utilize a printing mechanism (e.g., laser printers and ink
jet printers).

Plotters

Are output devices that draw graphics displays on paper. Also, produce printed
paper output.

4.6 Enriching Business Systems with Multimedia [Figure 4.15][Slide4-7]

As computing power and storage capacities are matched by the growing

telecommunications capabilities, multimedia computing increasingly enters
business life. Multimedia computing integrates various media, such as text, data,
graphics, sound, still images, and motion video, and enables the user to interact
with such a system.
The most advanced applications of multimedia computing are the virtual reality
(VR) systems that immerse users in three-dimensional artificial worlds, creating an
illusion of an alternative reality.

Multimedia computing is increasingly enabling innovative systems in various

business domains such as:

1. Marketing

2. Engineering and manufacturing

3. Human resource management

4. Training