Hardware and operation

It controls and coordinates the CPU: it fetches and decodes instructions and sends control signals telling the other components what to do and when. It does no calculating itself.

It performs all arithmetic operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) and logic operations (AND, OR, NOT, and comparisons) on data.

The address of the **next** instruction to be executed. It advances after each instruction is fetched.

The MAR holds the **address** being accessed; the MDR holds the **value** travelling to or from memory. Address versus data.

The instruction currently being executed, held there while the CU decodes and carries it out.

The number the ALU is working on — both the value going in and the answer coming out. ADD 5 turns a 12 in the accumulator into 17, in the same register.

**Address bus** — the memory address (one-way, CPU → memory). **Data bus** — the data or instruction itself (two-way). **Control bus** — the CU's commands and timing signals (two-way).

Only work that can be divided between cores benefits. If each step depends on the previous result, the work cannot be split and extra cores sit idle.

Registers sit inside the CPU and can be reached almost instantly, whereas RAM is much slower. Holding working values in registers stops the ALU waiting on memory.

To perform many simple calculations at the same time. It has thousands of small cores, which suits work made of many identical independent sums — pixels, machine learning, simulations.

A CPU has a few powerful cores that handle complicated varied work in order. A GPU has thousands of simple cores that do the same calculation simultaneously.

Machine learning (multiplying huge grids of numbers) and large simulations (updating millions of independent points). Both repeat one calculation across many values.

When the work is a chain of steps that each need the previous answer. Nothing can run in parallel, and GPU cores are individually weaker than CPU cores.

The CPU runs the program, decides what needs doing, sends the repetitive part and its data to the GPU, and collects the result when it is finished. The GPU never chooses its own work.

Registers, then cache (L1, L2, L3), then RAM. Each step holds more and takes longer to reach.

To hold recently used data and instructions in a small, very fast store close to the CPU, so most requests avoid the slower trip to RAM.

A hit means the value is already in cache, so no trip to RAM is needed. A miss means it is not, so it is fetched from RAM and copied into cache for next time.

RAM is a large volatile working space holding programs in use; it empties when power is lost. ROM is small, non-volatile and read only, holding the start-up program.

Because programs tend to reuse the same values shortly afterwards, so caching it turns the next request into a hit.

Fetch the next instruction from memory, decode it in the control unit, then execute it — usually a calculation in the ALU. The cycle then repeats.

The PC holds the address, which is copied to the MAR. Memory returns the instruction into the MDR, and it moves to the IR. The PC is then increased.

During fetch. A jump instruction works by writing a new address into the PC during execute — increasing it afterwards would overwrite the jump.

The control unit reads the instruction held in the IR, works out which operation is needed, and sends control signals to the parts that will carry it out.

All three: the address bus carries the address out, the control bus carries the read signal, and the data bus brings the instruction back.

Non-volatile storage that keeps data when the power is off. RAM empties at power-off, so anything kept permanently — files, programs, the operating system — lives here.

An SSD uses flash memory with no moving parts: faster, quieter, more robust, but dearer per gigabyte. An HDD uses a spinning magnetic disk with a moving head: slower and more fragile, but much cheaper for the capacity.

Portable SSD/HDD for backups and large files; flash drives or memory cards for carrying small amounts; optical discs for distributing identical content cheaply. NAS puts drives on a network for shared access.

Flash storage soldered onto the board of phones, tablets and budget laptops. Compact and inexpensive, but slower than an SSD and not replaceable.

Weigh capacity, speed, portability, cost and how many people need access at once. The right answer follows from the situation, not from which is newest.

Storing the same data in fewer bits. It works because real files repeat themselves, and smaller files need less storage and travel faster over a network.

Lossless can rebuild the original exactly — nothing is discarded, only written more briefly. Lossy permanently removes detail people are unlikely to notice, saving far more space but irreversibly.

Each run of identical values is replaced by a count and the value. A row of six white pixels is stored as '6 white' — two values instead of six. Expanding it restores every original pixel.

When neighbouring values rarely repeat, such as a detailed photograph. Most runs are length one, so storing a count beside every value adds data rather than saving it.

Text, code and spreadsheets need lossless — one altered character can change the meaning. Photographs, music and video use lossy, because small losses go unnoticed and the saving is much greater.

Renting computing from a provider over the internet instead of buying and running the machines yourself. You pay for what you use and the provider keeps the hardware working.

How far up the stack the provider takes over. IaaS gives you a machine and you install the OS upwards. PaaS runs the OS and runtime, and you supply your program. SaaS is the finished program — you just sign in.

When it needs to choose the operating system or its version — for software with unusual requirements — and has technical staff able to configure and maintain the machines.

When it needs a finished tool and has no technical staff. The provider handles updates, patching and backups, and the service is usable immediately.

Every layer you hand to the provider saves you work and removes a choice. Towards IaaS: more control, more responsibility for patching and setup. Towards SaaS: ready in minutes, but you accept the provider's features and versions and moving away later is hard.