Computer Organization & Architecture (AL-404) - Important Questions

Draw and explain the architecture / basic structure of a computer system with a block diagram.

Explain the fetch-execute / instruction cycle in detail, including the sequence of fetch and execute steps and the structure and role of the program counter, instruction register and memory registers.

Explain addressing modes with suitable examples.

Explain Booth's algorithm with flowchart and illustrate with an example multiplication of signed numbers.

Explain the design of an arithmetic unit with a neat block diagram and functions of its components.

Explain floating-point representation as per IEEE standard and describe floating-point arithmetic operations - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division - with suitable examples.

Explain the architecture and working of the PCI bus and how it improves I/O performance, with block diagram.

Explain asynchronous data transfer including strobe control and handshaking methods.

Explain Direct Memory Access (DMA) and how DMA operation / DMA controller works with block diagram.

Explain cache memory mapping techniques including direct mapping, associative / fully associative mapping, and set-associative mapping, with diagrams and advantages and disadvantages.

Calculate number of page faults for a given reference string using FIFO and Optimal page replacement algorithms for frame size 4. Illustrate with reference string 1 2 3 4 2 1 5 6 2 1 2 3 7 6 3 2 1 2 3 6.

Explain the architecture and working of a magnetic disk with a neat diagram.

Explain the concept of virtual memory with a neat diagram. Discuss address translation and role of memory management hardware.

Compare and differentiate RISC vs CISC architectures, including definitions, characteristics, and examples.

What is a multiprocessor and explain inter-processor communication, synchronization and arbitration in detail?

Explain the concept of pipelining and how it improves instruction execution throughput and system performance.