Some examples from this set of practice questions
1.
What is a memory hierarchy and why do we need one?
Answer: The memory hierarchy is a way of organising memory in a computer to provide a large, cheap and fast storage system by placing a small amount of fast expensive memory close to the processor, and cheap bulk but slower storage further away. Why do we need a memory hierarchy? Processors have increased in speed faster than a memory. Memory hierarchies can bridge the performance gap.
2.
Describe the two principles of the locality that allow (data) memory caches to operate effectively.
Answer: 1. Temporal locality: Items tend to get used more than once. 2. Spatial locality: Items stored together get used together.
3.
What is the small fast memory that acts as a local buffer for the main memory called?
Answer: Cache
4.
In the context of a cache, explain: cache hit and cache miss?
Answer: When the processor requests data from memory it accesses the cache to see if it is already stored there. If it is then it is a cache hit. If it cannot retrieve the data then the processor loads the data it needs from main memory (DRAM) or a lower level-cache – a cache miss.
5.
Explain the operation of a direct-mapped cache
Answer: • Memory locations are mapped to unique cache positions. • Cache Block = (Block Address) modulo (Number of Cache Blocks) • Tag Bits: A tag at cache location gives high order bits • Complete address = tag cache address • Valid Bit: Indicates whether the cache = memory
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller ayeshakayani1. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
No, you only buy these notes for $10.76. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
98522 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now
