O Level – Paper 1 – Hardware

Computer architecture

The central processing unit

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The central processing unit (CPU) has the responsibility for execution and processing of all instructions and
data in a computer. It consists of:

• control unit (CU)

• arithmetic and logic unit (ALU)
• registers and buses

A microprocessor is an integrated circuit (microchip) – also referred to as a processor or CPU. The

microprocessor contains the ALU and control unit to enable it to interpret and execute all instructions and
carry out arithmetic operations. The CPU also contains the system clock and primary memory.

Von Neumann architecture

Von Neumann introduced the idea of the stored program computer, which has been the basis of many
computers for a number of years. The von Neumann architecture had the following main novel features
(none of which were available in computers prior to the mid-1940s).

• The concept of a central processing unit (CPU or processor).

• The processor was able to access the memory directly.
• Computer memories could store programs as well as data.
• Stored programs were made up of instructions which could be executed in sequential order.
• There are many diagrams of von Neumann CPU architecture, the following diagram is one example of a
simple representation of von Neumann architecture:

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Components of the central processing unit (CPU)

Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU)

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The Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU) allows the required arithmetic (e.g. +, - and shifting) or logic (e.g. AND,
OR) operations to be carried out while a program is being run; it is possible for a computer to have more
than one ALU to carry out specific functions. Multiplication and division are carried out by a sequence of
addition, subtraction and left or right logical shift operations.

Control Unit (CU)

The control unit reads an instruction from memory. The address of the location where the instruction can
be found is stored in the Program Counter (PC). This instruction is then interpreted using the Fetch-
Decode-Execute cycle. During that process, signals are generated along the control bus to tell the other
components in the computer what to do. The control unit ensures synchronisation of data flow and
program instructions throughout the computer. A system dock is used to produce timing signals on the
control bus to ensure this vital synchronisation takes place - without the clock the computer would simply
crash!

The RAM holds all the data and programs needed to be accessed by the CPU. The RAM is often referred to as
the Immediate Access Store (IAS). The CPU takes data and programs held in backing store (e.g. a hard disk
drive) and puts them into RAM temporarily. This is done because read/write operations carried out using the
RAM are considerably faster than read/write operations to backing store; consequently, any key data
needed by an application will be stored temporarily in RAM to considerably speed up operations.

Registers

One of the most fundamental components of the von Neumann system are the registers. Registers can be
general or special purpose. The most common special registers are:

Register Abbreviation Function/purpose of register

current instruction register CIR stores the current instruction being decoded and
executed
accumulator ACC used when carrying out index addressing operations
(assembly code)
memory address register MAR stores the address of the memory location currently
being read from or written to
memory data/buffer register MDR/MBR stores data which has just been read from memory or
data which is about to be written to memory
(sometimes referred to as MBR)
program counter PC stores the address where the next instruction to be
read can be found

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System buses and memory

The buses are used to connect the CPU to the memory and to input/output devices.

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Address bus

As the name suggests, the address bus carries addresses throughout the computer system. Between the CPU
and memory the address bus is unidirectional (in other words, bits can travel in one direction only). This
prevents addresses being carried back to the CPU, which would be undesirable.

The width of a bus is important. The wider the bus, the more memory locations which can be directly
addressed at any given time; for example, a bus of width 16 bits can address 216 (65 536) memory locations,
whereas a bus width of 32 bits allows 4 294 967 296 memory locations to be simultaneously addressed.

Data bus

The data bus is bidirectional (in other words, it allows data to be sent in both directions along the bus). This
means data can be carried from CPU to memory (and vice versa) as well as to and from input/output
devices. It is important to point out that data can be an address, an instruction or a numerical value. As with
the address bus, the width of the data bus is important: the wider the bus, the larger the word length that
can be transported. (A word is a group of bits which can be regarded as a single unit, for example, 16-bit, 32-
bit or 64-bit word lengths are the most common). Larger word lengths can improve the computer’s overall
performance.

Control bus

The control bus is also bidirectional. It carries signals from the CU to all the other computer components. It is
usually 8-bits wide since it only carries control signals.

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The following diagram summarises the components of a typical CPU.

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The Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle

To carry out a set of instructions, the CPU first of all fetches some data and instructions from memory and

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stores them in suitable registers. Both the address bus and data bus are used in this process. Once this is
done, each instruction needs to be decoded before finally being executed. This is all known as the Fetch-
Decode-Execute cycle.

Fetch

In the Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle, the next instruction is fetched from the memory address currently
stored in the MAR and the instruction is stored in the MDR. The contents of the MDR are then copied to
the Current Instruction Register (CIR). The PC is then incremented (increased by 1) so that the next
instruction can be then be processed.

Decode

The instruction is then decoded so that it can be interpreted in the next part of the cycle.

Execute

The CPU passes the decoded instruction as a set of control signals to the appropriate components within the
computer system. This allows each instruction to be carried out in its logical sequence.

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Cores, cache and internal clock

It is worth mentioning here the role of the system clock. The clock defines the clock cycle which

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synchronises all computer operations. As mentioned earlier, the control bus transmits timing signals,
ensuring everything is fully synchronised. By increasing clock speed, the processing speed of the computer
is also increased (a typical current value is 3.5 GHz – which means 3.5 billion clock cycles a second).
Although the speed of the computer may have been increased, it is not possible to say that a computer’s
overall performance is necessarily increased by using a higher clock speed. Four other factors need to be
considered.

1. Width of the address bus and data bus can affect computer performance.
2. Overclocking: the clock speed can be changed by accessing the BIOS basic input/output system
(BIOS) and altering the settings. However, using a clock speed higher than the computer was designed
for can lead to problems, such as
– execution of instructions outside design limits, which can lead to seriously unsynchronised
operations (in other words, an instruction is unable to complete in time before the next one is
due to be executed) and the computer would frequently crash and become unstable
– serious overheating of the CPU leading to unreliable performance.
3. The use of cache memory can also improve processor performance. It is similar to RAM in that its
contents are lost when the power is turned off. Cache uses SRAM whereas most computers use DRAM
for main memory. Therefore, cache memories will have faster access times, since there is no need to
keep refreshing, which slows down access time. When a processor reads memory, it first checks out
cache and then moves on to main memory if the required data is not there. Cache memory stores
frequently used instructions and data that need to be accessed faster. This improves processor
performance.
4. The use of a different number of cores (one core is made up of an ALU, a CU and the registers) can
improve computer performance. Many computers are dual core (the CPU is made up of two cores)
or quad core (the CPU is made up of four cores). The idea of using more cores alleviates the need to
continually increase clock speeds. However, doubling the number of cores does not necessarily double
the computer’s performance since we have to take into account the need for the CPU to communicate
with each core; this will reduce overall performance. For example
– dual core has one channel and needs the CPU to communicate with both cores, reducing some
of the potential increase in its performance
– quad core has six channels and needs the CPU to communicate with all four cores, considerably
reducing potential performance.
Two cores, one channel (left) and four cores, six
channels (right), all of these factors need to be taken
into account when considering computer performance.

• increasing bus width (data and address buses)

increases the performance and speed of a computer
system
• increasing clock speed usually increases the speed
of a computer
• a computer’s performance can be changed by altering bus width, clock speed and use of multi-core CPUs
• use of cache memories can also speed up a processor’s performance.
Instruction set

In a computer system, instructions are a set of operations which are decoded in sequence. Each operation
will instruct the ALU and CU (which are part of the CPU). An operation is made up of an opcode and an
operand. The opcode informs the CPU what operation needs to be done. The operand is the data which
needs to be acted on or it can refer to a register in the memory.
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Embedded systems

An embedded system is a combination of hardware and software which is designed to carry out a specific

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set of functions. The hardware is electronic, electrical or electro-mechanical. Embedded systems can be
based on:

microcontrollers: this has a CPU in addition to some RAM and ROM and other peripherals all
embedded onto one single chip (together they carry out a specific task)

microprocessor: integrated circuit which only has a CPU on the chip (there is no RAM, ROM or
peripherals - these need to be added)

system on chips (SoC): this may contain a microcontroller as one of its components (they almost always
will include CPU, memory, input/output (I/O) ports and secondary storage on a
single microchip)

An embedded system will have a specific set of tasks, the following Figure summarises how embedded
systems work in general:

When installed in a device, either an operator can input data manually (for example, select a temperature
from a keypad or turn a dial on an oven control panel) or the data will come from an automatic source, such
as a sensor. This sensor input will be analogue or digital in nature, for example, inputs such as oxygen levels
or fuel pressure in a car's engine management system. The output will then carry out the function of the
embedded system by sending signals to the components that are being controlled (for example, increase the
power to the heating elements in an oven or reduce fuel levels in the engine).

Depending on the device, embedded systems are either programmable or non-programmable. Non-
programmable devices need, in general, to be replaced if they require a software upgrade. Programmable
devices permit upgrading by two methods:

• connecting the device to a computer and allowing the download of updates to the software (for
example, this is used to update the maps on a GPS system used in a vehicle)
• automatic updates via a Wi-Fi, satellite or cellular (mobile phone network) link (for example, many
modern cars allow updates to engine management systems and other components via satellite link).

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There are definite benefits and drawbacks of devices being controlled using embedded systems:

Benefits Drawbacks

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they are small in size and therefore easy to fit into it can be difficult to upgrade some devices to take
devices advantage of new technology
compared to other systems, they are relatively troubleshooting faults in the device becomes a
low cost to make specialist task
they are usually dedicated to one task allowing although the interface can appear to be simpler
simple interfaces and often no requirement for an (e.g. a single knob) in reality it can be more
operating system confusing (e.g. changing the time on a cooker
clock can require several steps!)
they consume very little power any device that can be accessed over the internet
is also open to hackers, viruses, etc.
they can be controlled remotely using a mobile due to the difficulty in upgrading and fault finding,
phone, for example devices are often just thrown away rather than
being repaired (very wasteful)
very fast reaction to changing input (operate in can lead to an increase in the ’throw away’
real time and are feedback orientated) society if devices are discarded just because they
with mass production comes reliability have become out-of-date

Because embedded systems can be connected to the internet, it is possible to control them remotely using a
smartphone or computer. For example, setting the central heating system to switch on or off while away
from home or remotely instructing a set top box to record a television programme. Since embedded systems
are dedicated to a specific set of tasks, engineers can optimise their designs to reduce the physical size and
cost of the devices. The range of applications are vast, ranging from a single microcontroller (for example, in
an MP3 player) to a complex array of multiple units (for example, in a medical imaging system).

It is worth mentioning here that a computer is not an example of an embedded system. Computers are
multi-functional (that is, they can carry out many different tasks which can be varied by using different
software) which means they can't be classed as embedded systems.

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Input and output devices

Barcode readers

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Barcodes are a series of dark and light parallel lines of varying thickness. They are a unique series of lines
representing the digits 0 to 9. Barcodes are read by a scanner that uses a red laser or red light emitting
diode (LED) light source. Reflected red light is read by photoelectric cells (sensors) that create a digital
sequence of dark and light; for example, LDDDDLD (or 0111101 in binary).

Barcodes are used mainly on goods in a supermarket, but they can be used anywhere where an item can
be scanned to identify it (for example, in a library). Barcode data is stored on a file in a products database;
each barcode is used as a key field to uniquely identify the record which gives the data about the product
– once the barcode is read, the product details (such as price) can be retrieved. They also allow for
automatic stock control and sales reporting.

Advantages of using barcodes to the management

• Much easier and faster to change prices on stock items.

• Much better, more up-to-date sales information/sales trends.
• No need to price every stock item on the shelves (this reduces time and cost to the management).
• Allows for automatic stock control.
• Possible to check customer buying habits more easily by linking barcodes to, for example, customer
loyalty cards.

Advantages of using barcodes to the customers

• Faster checkout queues (staff don’t need to remember/look up prices of items).

• Errors in charging customers is reduced.
• The customer is given an itemised bill.
• Cost savings can be passed on to the customer.
• Better track of ‘sell by dates’ so food should be fresher.

QR codes

Quick response (QR) codes are another type of barcode made up of a matrix of filled-in dark squares on a
light background. QR codes hold considerably more information/data than barcodes (up to 7089 digits or
4296 characters). Three large squares at the corners are used to align the QR code when it is being scanned
by a camera.

QR codes can be used to advertise products, give automatic access to websites, store boarding passes
electronically at airports and so on. QR codes are read by a camera on a smartphone or tablet using the
following method.

• Camera on smartphone or tablet is pointed at the QR code.

• A stored app processes the image taken by the camera.
• The browser automatically reads the data generated by the app and decodes any web addresses
embedded in the QR code.
• Any weblinks are then sent to the smartphone or tablet.

Advantages of QR codes compared to traditional barcodes

• They can hold much more information.

• There will be fewer errors; the higher capacity of the QR code allows the use of built-in error-checking
systems – normal barcodes contain almost no data redundancy (data which is duplicated), therefore it
isn’t possible to guard against badly printed or damaged barcodes.
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• QR codes are easier to read; they don’t need expensive laser or LED scanners like barcodes – they can
be read by the cameras on smartphones or tablet.

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• It is easy to transmit QR codes either as text messages or images. l It is also possible to encrypt QR
codes which gives them greater protection than traditional barcodes.

Disadvantages of QR codes compared to traditional barcodes

• More than one QR format is available.

• QR codes can be used to transmit malicious codes – known as attagging; since there are a large
number of free apps available to a user for generating QR codes, this means anyone can generate QR
codes. It is therefore relatively easy to write malicious code and embed this within the QR code.

Digital cameras

Digital images taken by cameras can easily be transferred to a computer (or other device) via USB port,
Bluetooth (wireless transfer) or memory card reader. Microprocessors in the camera automatically control
many camera functions, such as shutter speed, focus, aperture size, flash, ‘red eye’ removal and so on.

Many modern cameras have tiny lenses which allow them to be used in, for example, car bumpers (as a
parking aid), in drones (for aerial photos) and in endoscopes (to check the inside of pipes, for example). The
image through the camera lens is captured on photodiodes (charge couple devices (CCD)) and converted into
pixels which form an electronic matrix of the image which can be stored in memory.

Keyboards

Even with all the modern alternatives available, keyboards are still the most common data entry devices.
They can be physical keyboards (connected via USB or Bluetooth) or virtual keyboards (for example, on a
smartphone or keyboard using the touchscreen features).

Each character on a keyboard has an ASCII value. The computer is able to detect which key is pressed, which
allows it to determine the character that was selected.

Entry of data via a keyboard is a slow process which is also prone to error and can lead to injuries such as
repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Microphones

Microphones have a number of applications, for example, as a sensor (to detect sound in an intruder
detection system), to input text into a computer (of particular benefit to a disabled person who cannot use a
keyboard) or for doing voiceovers on presentation slides and so on.

Microphones convert sound into electric currents of varying amplitude. A diaphragm in the microphone
vibrates and a copper coil and cone attached to the diaphragm create an electric current as the coil vibrates
back and forth. The electric current can be converted into digital data and then stored in a computer
memory.

Optical mouse

A mouse is used to move an on-screen cursor which allows the user to take actions (for example, select an
option from a menu).The optical mouse is an example of a pointing device. It uses tiny cameras and a red
LED light source to allow the exact position of the mouse to be calculated.

Unlike a mechanical mouse, the optical mouse can work on any surface and has no moving parts to wear
out. They are connected to a computer using one of the USB ports or by Bluetooth connectivity.

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Advantages of an optical mouse compared to a mechanical mouse

• No moving parts therefore more reliable.

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• Dirt can’t get trapped in any components.
• No need for special software.

Advantages of a wired mouse (using USB) compared to a wireless mouse

• Unlike Bluetooth, wired connections have no signal loss.

• Cheaper to use (no need for batteries).
• Fewer environmental issues (for example, disposal of batteries).

Scanners

• 2D scanners are used, for example, to scan in documents. The information on the document is
converted into an electronic format that can be stored on a computer memory.
• Computers equipped with optical character recognition (OCR) software allow the scanned text to be
converted into a text file format, which can then be imported into a word processor. The original text
can then be manipulated as required.
• 2D scanners are used at airports, for example, to read passports enabling automatic border controls. The
photo in the passport is scanned and then compared to an image taken by a camera at border control.
Scanning faces is called facial recognition and is used in many security systems, for example, to control
entry to a building or as a security device on a smartphone to prevent unauthorised use.
• 3D scanners scan solid objects and produce a 3D image that can then be used in computer-aided design
(CAD) software or even sent to a 3D printer allowing the scanned object to be duplicated. 3D scanner
technology uses lasers, X-rays, magnetic resonance or white light. 3D scanners are used, for example, in
medical applications to build up images of parts of the human anatomy (the part of the anatomy being
scanned is divided up into thin slices by the scanner producing a 3D image – this is known as
tomography; it is effectively the reverse of what 3D printers do). Tomography uses X-rays to produce 3D
images; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners use radio frequencies.

Touchscreens

Touchscreens are now common input devices, used at ordering stations for fast food, information kiosks at
airports and on smartphones and tablets.

There are three common touchscreen technologies: capacitive, infrared and resistive.

Capacitive

• Two main types: surface captive screens or projective capacitive screens.

• Relies on fingers touching the screen causing a change in the electrostatic fields (change in current flow).
• The point where the finger touches the screen is calculated by a microprocessor.
• If projective technology is used, multi-touch facility (pinching and sliding) is allowed. Has good clarity in
all lighting conditions. Durable screens that tolerate scratches.
• Technology can be sensitive to magnetic fields or microwaves.

Infrared

• Uses a glass screen and an array of sensors and infrared transmitters.

• Where the infrared beam is broken by a finger, the signal to some of the sensors is broken or reduced
thus allowing a microprocessor to calculate where the screen was touched.
• Allows multi-touch facility.
• Has good screen durability.

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• Not severely affected by scratches or even cracked screens.
• Can be sensitive to moisture on the screen.

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• Can be sensitive to light interference.

Resistive

• Made up of two layers of polymer and glass.

• A voltage is applied across the two surfaces.
• When the top polymer surface is touched it makes contact with the bottom layer completing a circuit
allowing current to flow at that point.
• The point of contact is detected where a change in voltage occurred, which enables a microprocessor
to calculate the coordinates.
• Has good resistance to dust and water.
• Low sensitivity and doesn’t allow multi-touch facilities.
• Vulnerable to scratches and cracked layers

Output devices

Actuators

When a computer or microprocessor is used to control a process (such as a conveyer belt or a valve) it is
usually necessary to use an actuator to start/stop the conveyor belt or open/close the value. An actuator is a
mechanical or electromechanical device, such as a relay, solenoid or motor.

Speakers

Loudspeakers produce sound from varying electric currents. If sound is stored digitally on a computer, it
needs to pass through a digital to analogue converter (DAC) first to turn the digital signals into an electric
current to drive the speakers.

Speakers are made up of a paper/plastic cone, permanent magnet and a coil of wire wrapped around an iron
core. Varying electric currents cause the iron core to vibrate; this is connected to the paper/plastic cone
which therefore also vibrates producing sound.

Light projectors

Light projectors are used to project computer output onto a larger screen or interactive whiteboard; the
technology is quite complex since it has to convert a computer’s digital output into light which can then be
projected. The two most common types are digital light projectors (DLP) or liquid crystal display (LCD)
projectors.

DLP

• Uses many micro mirrors arranged on a DMD chip.

• These mirrors can move according to the data sent to them from the computer.
• Micro mirrors produce a greyscale image of the light source (1024 shades of grey).
• A bright light is shone on the DMD chip passing through an RGB filter where the greyscale image is now
converted into a full-colour image

LCD

• A powerful beam of light is sent to a chromatic-coated mirror which splits the image into red, green and
blue components.
• Three different versions of the same image are produced.
• The images are recombined using a prism which produces an enlarged full-colour image.

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The advantages and disadvantages of the two types of projectors

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Printers
There are two common types of printer: inkjet and laser.

Inkjet printers rely on spraying liquid ink droplets from a reservoir onto paper; they use either thermal
bubble or piezoelectric technology to create the ink bubbles and droplets. Stepper motors move paper up a
line at a time and the print head moves across the page left to right. The inkjet ink cartridges and paper trays
are only suitable for relatively small print runs (for example, a one-off photograph or a few pages of high-
quality colour printing).

Laser printers rely on using dry powder ink (known as toner); this solid ink is melted onto the paper using a
fuser. The position where text or images is to be printed is charged negatively on a drum using a laser.
Positively charged ink then sticks to the areas of negative charge on the drum which is then transferred to a
sheet of paper as the drum rotates. The whole page is produced in one go.

Ink/toner cartridges and paper trays are much larger than those used in inkjet printers; consequently, laser
printers are more suitable for large print runs (for example, producing hundreds of advertising leaflets).

3D printers

3D printers are used to produce solid objects that actually work; the printers are based on inkjet and laser
printer technology. A solid object is built up from very thin layers of material; the printing medium can be
powdered resin, powdered metal, paper or ceramics (but this list is by no means exhaustive). 3D printing is
an example of additive printing (that is, an object is built up layer by layer).

Direct 3D printing uses a print head moving left to right and up and down as it builds up the thin layers
(typically 0.1mm thick).

Binder 3D printing works in a similar way to direct printing, except there are two passes of the print head for
each layer; the first pass is dry powder and the second pass is a binding agent (which holds the powder
layers together).

There are many uses of 3D printing: in medicine (for example, prosthetic limbs and reconstructive surgery),
in aerospace to make light-weight parts, fashion and art to create one-off dresses and sculptures (and to
make copies of rare paintings which are indistinguishable from the originals) and making parts for items (for
example, vintage and veteran cars) which are no longer available.
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Sensors

Sensors are input devices that read physical properties from their surroundings (for example, temperature

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or light). Sensors constantly send signals to a microprocessor (or computer); they usually pass through an
analogue to digital converter (ADC) first since computers can only understand binary (digital) data.

If the computer or microprocessor is only monitoring a process, then the sensor data is compared to
stored data and a warning sound or screen output is produced to alert the user. Examples include
monitoring a patient’s vital signs in a hospital, an intruder alarm system, and pollution levels in a river or
the atmosphere.

If the computer or microprocessor is controlling a process, then the sensor data is again compared to
stored/set data and action is taken if the sensor data indicates the measured parameter is out of range.
Signals are then sent out to alter the process until the sensor readings are back in range again (for
example, a valve may need to be open, or a heater switched off). This is called feedback. Examples of
control include: automatically turn on a car’s headlamps when it gets dark, controlling the temperature in
a greenhouse or controlling a chemical process (for example, to maintain correct temperature, acidity (pH)
or pressure).

Control data from the computer or microprocessor is often sent through a DAC first so that it can operate
the actuators.

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The following table summarises some common sensors.

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Data storage

Memory and storage can be split into two groups:

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• primary memory
• secondary storage

Random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM) are usually referred to as primary memory.
Both memories are fairly small and relatively expensive per GiB, so it is necessary to also have secondary
storage.

• ROM chips are typically 4 to 8MiB in size.

• RAM chips are typically 1 to 256GiB in size.
• Secondary storage is typically 2 TiB or larger.

Unlike secondary storage, primary memory is directly addressable by the CPU. If data on secondary
storage is needed by the CPU, it must first be loaded into RAM before the CPU can use the data.

Secondary storage devices can be external or internal to the computer.

Primary memory

The following diagram shows how primary memory is split into RAM and ROM and the two types of RAM
commonly used. The cache memory is also shown; this is an extension to primary memory. Cache is high
speed RAM that holds a copy of only the most frequently used data or instructions – cache is first checked
when the CPU wants to access data/instructions from the primary memory.

Computers need both RAM and ROM. RAM is the working area of the computer where data currently being
used is temporarily stored; ROM contains data that can’t be changed and needs to be stored permanently
(for example, start-up routines).

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The following table summarises the differences between RAM and ROM.

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RAM can be two types: dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM).

Secondary and offline storage

Secondary storage includes storage devices that are not directly addressable by the CPU. They are non-
volatile devices that allow data to be stored for as long as required by the user. All applications, operating
system, devices drivers and general files (for example, photographs and music) are stored on secondary
devices.

Magnetic, optical and solid-state storage

There are three common technologies used in secondary storage devices: magnetic, solid state and optical.

Magnetic storage devices

The most common example of magnetic storage is the hard disk drive (HDD). HDDs can be fixed or
removable.

Data is stored on platters that are made from aluminium, glass or ceramic and each surface is coated in a
magnetisable material. The platters spin at about 7000 times per second and read/write (electromagnetic)
heads float a fraction of a millimetre above the surface; these heads permit writing and reading of data. Disk
drives can have several platters; both sides of the platter are used and each surface has its own read/write
head.

Blocks of data are stored in sectors and tracks. The read/write heads are constantly moving in and out to
find blocks of data; the time it takes to find and access the required data block is known as latency. Once the
sector containing the required data block is found, the data in a sector is read sequentially (in order);
however, actual data access is direct.

After a lot of use, data on an HDD can suffer from fragmentation, which can seriously affect the performance
of the storage device.

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Solid-state storage devices

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are rapidly replacing HDDs as the main secondary storage. SSDs operate by

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controlling the movement of electrons within NAND or NOR chips. The data is stored as 0s or 1s in millions
of tiny transistors. At each junction in a solid-state NAND matrix, there is one transistor called a floating
gate and another called a control gate; this forms a non-volatile rewritable memory store.

When a voltage is applied to the control gate, electrons from an electron source are attracted to it. The
control gate is coated in a dielectric material causing electrons to be trapped in the floating gate which
gives control of the bit value stored at each junction.

Memory sticks, flash memories, SD cards and SSDs all use solid-state technology. Memory sticks are
primarily used to store data that can be transferred between computers or for backing up files, such as
photographs. Flash memory is a general term for devices that use solid-state technology; they are used in
mobile phones and tablets as a form of storage. SD cards are used primarily to store data on digital
cameras, but can also be used to expand the storage capacity of mobile phones, dashcams or drones
(dashcams and drones use micro SD cards – these are about half the size of a normal SD card).

Benefits of SSDs compared to HDDs

• More reliable (no moving parts).

• Much lighter weight.
• No need to ‘get up to speed’ before data access.
• Less power consumption.
• Run much cooler.
• Very thin due to solid-state technology.
• Much faster data access.

Drawbacks of SSDs compared to HDDs

• Longevity (SSD endurance) is still an issue (but this situation continues to improve).
• The memory chips in a solid-state storage device have a limited number of write cycles – this can lead to
unrecoverable data loss.
• If the controller chip, memory cache, or one of the NAND memory chips has been damaged, it may be
impossible to recover the data.

Optical media

CDs and DVDs are optical storage devices that use red laser light to read and write data on the disk surface.
The surface of the optical disk is coated in a special light alloy or light-sensitive dye – the coating is sensitive
to red laser light. CDs and DVDs have one spiral track and data is stored in pits and lands, which can be read
by an optical head. DVDs often use dual-layering to increase capacity.

Blu-ray discs use blue laser light to read and write data. Since the wavelength of blue light is much shorter
than the wavelength of red light, this increases the storage capacity of Blu-ray discs, making Bluray suitable
for 4K high-definition movies. Blu-ray discs have built-in encryption and a much faster data transfer rate than
DVDs. They can also automatically search for empty space on the disk surface, preventing overrecording.
Blu-ray discs allow for greater interactivity than DVDs.

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Virtual memory

If the amount of RAM available is exceeded due to multiple programs running at the same time (and

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competing for available memory), then virtual memory can help resolve this issue. RAM is known as the
physical memory and virtual memory is the RAM plus swap space (which is allocated storage space on an
HDD or SSD).

New data is loaded into RAM from the HDD/SSD whenever required and ‘old’ data is moved out to
HDD/SSD as and when required. Memory mapping is used to keep track of where data is. Part of memory
mapping is called paging, which is used by memory management to store and retrieve data (a page is a
fixed length contiguous block of data utilised in virtual memory systems).

Virtual memory gives the illusion of unlimited RAM; even when RAM is ‘full’, pages of data can be moved
to and from HDD/SSD to give the illusion that RAM is always available.

Benefits of virtual memory

• With virtual memory, programs can be larger than physical RAM and still be executed.
• Virtual memory reduces the need to buy and install extra RAM (which is expensive).

If a hard disk drive is being used with virtual memory, disk thrashing can become an issue since pages are
being constantly moved to and from HDD. This causes so many head movements to be made that a thrash
point can be reached (the thrash point is when the system is so busy moving data to and from HDD that very
little actual execution is done). SSDs aren’t affected in the same way since they have no moving parts.

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Cloud storage

Cloud storage is the storing of vast quantities of data on remote physical servers. Some of the larger cloud

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providers use server capacities in excess of 1 exbibyte. There are three types of cloud storage.

• Public cloud – the client and cloud storage provider are different companies.
• Private cloud – a dedicated system behind a firewall where the client and storage provider operate as
a single entity.
• Hybrid cloud – a combination of public and private cloud provider where the most sensitive data is
stored on the private cloud.

When using cloud storage, the same data is stored on more than one server in case of maintenance/repair
– this is called data redundancy.

Benefits of cloud storage

• Customer/client files stored on the cloud can be accessed at any time from any device anywhere in
the world provided internet access is available.
• There is no need for a customer/client to carry an external storage device with them, or even use the
same computer to store and retrieve information.
• The cloud provides the user with remote back-up of data with obvious benefits to alleviate data loss/
disaster recovery.
• If a customer/client has a failure of their hard disk or back-up device, cloud storage will allow recovery of
their data.
• The cloud system offers almost unlimited storage capacity.

Drawbacks of cloud storage

• If the customer/client has a slow or unstable internet connection, they would have many problems
accessing or downloading their data/files.
• Costs can be high if large storage capacity is required; it can also be expensive to pay for high download/
upload data transfer limits with the customer/client internet service provider (ISP).
• The potential failure of the cloud storage company is always possible – this poses a risk of loss of all
back-up data. l Data security issues – how safely stored and protected is the data from hacking, natural
disasters and malware?

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Network hardware

Network interface cards

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A network interface card (NIC) is needed to allow a device to connect to a network (for example, the
internet). The NIC contains the Media Access Control (MAC) address, generated at the manufacturing
stage. Wireless NICs (WNICs) can also be used; these plug into the USB port or can be part of an internal
integrated circuit.

Media Access Control addresses

MAC addresses identify a device connected to a network. They are made up of 48 bits written in groups of
six hex digits.

MAC addresses can be Universally Administered MAC addresses (UAAs) set at the manufacturing stage, or
they can be altered by the user as Locally Administered MAC Addresses (LAAs) – these can be reset by the
user if all devices on a network need a certain MAC format.

Internet Protocol addresses

When a device connects to a network, a router assigns the device an Internet Protocol (IP) address, via a
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which is unique to that network. There are two versions
of IP address:

• IPv4 (32-bit address with the format A.B.C.D where A, B, C and D can take the values 1 to 255; for
example, 215.180.1.80)
• IPv6 (128-bit address with the format eight groups of four hex digits; for example,
A8FB:7A88:FFF0:0FFF:3D21:2085:66FB:F0FA).

IPv6 removes the risk of IP address collisions and allows for more efficient packet switching; IPv6 also has
built-in authentication checks.

IP addresses can be static or dynamic. The following table compares static and dynamic IP addresses.

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The following table summarises the differences between a MAC address and an IP address.

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Routers

Routers enable data packets to be routed between different networks, for example a local area network
(LAN) to a wide area network (WAN). Routers take data transmitted in one format (protocol) from network
‘A’ and convert the data to another format (protocol) that network ‘B’ understands. This allows
communication between networks to take place.

Routers inspect data packets sent to it from another device or network. Every device on the same network
has the same part of an IP address (for example, 215.164.10.XX) so the router can send data packets to an
appropriate switch. The switch then directs the data packet to the correct device on the network.

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Question No. 1

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