Control unit

• The control unit coordinates all activities of the CPU
• The CU accepts the next instruction, decodes it, handles its execution, and stores the resulting data back in memory or registers
• The CU sends memory read and write requests to main memory on the control bus, as well as other command and control signals such as bus requests, bus grants, interrupt requests etc
• The CU makes extensive use of the status registers and clock
• The CU coordinates and communicates with all parts of the CPU by directing the flow of data between the CPU and other devices