IIS

• Computer system hardware components


  • Input devices
  • Output devices
  • Communications devices
  • Primary storage devices
  • Secondary storage devices
  • Central processing unit (CPU)
• Central Processing Unit (CPU)


  The part of the computer that consists of the arithmetic/logic unit, the control unit, and the register storage areas
• Arithmetic/Logic Unit (ALU)


  • The part of the CPU that performs mathematical calculations and makes logical comparisons
• Control Unit


  • The part of the CPU that sequentially accesses program instructions, decodes them, and coordinates the flow of data in and out of the ALU, the registers, the primary storage, and even secondary storage and various output devices
• Processing and Memory Devices

  The components responsible for processing - the CPU and memory - are housed in the same box or cabinet, called the system unit
• Processing Characteristics and Functions

  • Time to complete a machine cycle, clock speed, and others are used to gauge processing speed
• Clock Speed


  The rate at which the CPU produces electronic pulses, which affects machine cycle time
• Physical Characteristics of the CPU

  • CPU speed is limited by physical constraints such as the distance between digital circuits and the resistance of the medium to electrical current
• Memory Characteristics and Functions


  Memory provides the CPU with a working storage area for program instructions and data, and rapidly provides this information to the CPU
• Storage Capacity


  Data is stored in memory as a combination of on or off circuit states, with 8 bits representing a character and forming a byte
• Types of Memory


  • Random Access Memory (RAM)
  • Read-Only Memory (ROM)
• Random Access Memory (RAM)


  Temporary and volatile memory that loses its contents if the current is turned off or disrupted
• Read-Only Memory (ROM)


  Nonvolatile memory with a fixed combination of circuit states, providing permanent storage for data and instructions that do not change
• Multicore Microprocessor


  • Combines two or more independent processors into one computer to share the workload and boost processing capacity
• Parallel Computing


  A form of multiprocessing that speeds processing by linking several processors to operate at the same time
• Grid Computing


  Using a collection of computers, often owned by many people or organizations, to work in a coordinated manner to solve a common problem
• Typical Grid Computing networks consists of 3 machine types:

  1. Control node/server

  2. Provider/grid node

  3. User
• IBM launched the World Community Grid project in 2004 to harness the unused computing power of personal and business computers into a large-scale public computing grid
• Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) used the computer power of more than 1 million devices attached to the grid to test drug candidates for new and drug-resistant flu strains, such as H1N1
• Stan Watowich, the lead researcher at UTMB, claims that "we expect to identify new influenza drug candidates in less than a month. We can move from computer calculations into laboratory testing more quickly and with a sharper focus"
• HARDWARE COMPONENTS - Computer system hardware components devices that perform the functions of input, processing, data storage, and output

• Central Processing Unit (CPU) 3 associated elements:

  • Arithmetic/Logic Unit
  • The Control Unit
  • The register areas
• How Grid Computing Works


  Figure

  
• Hardware Components 


  Figure

  
• Computer Storage Units

  
• Byte


  Abbreviation is B and Number of bytes is 1
• Provider/Grid node 


  a computer that contributes its resources to the network resource pool.
• User


  Refers to the computer that uses the resources on the network to complete the task.
• Control node/Server 


  is a server or a group of servers that administers the entire network and maintains the record for resources in a network pool.
• Kilobyte abbreviation and number of bytes

  KB and 2¹⁰ or 1,024 bytes
• Exabyte - abbreviation and Number of bytes

  EB and 2⁶⁰ or 1,024 petabytes