Computer System Organisation Flashcards
What is an embedded system?
A specialized computer system designed for specific tasks, often with real-time computing constraints, integrated into a device with hardware and mechanical parts.
What is pervasive computing?
The integration of computing into everyday life, with many computers of varying power working in the background.
What are the three interaction modes in pervasive computing?
Active: User controls the system (e.g., scheduling a recording).
Passive: Systems react to conditions (e.g., mood-based lighting).
Coercive: Systems control life aspects (e.g., safety mechanisms).
List the types of computer systems in order of increasing power and cost.
Embedded → Palmtop → PC → Server → Mainframe → Clusters → Supercomputer
What is distributed computing?
A cooperative network of servers and systems, classified into Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs).
What is the client-server model?
A model where the client (user’s machine) makes requests, and the server processes these requests and serves resources.
P2P Vs Client-Server
In P2P, nodes can act as both clients and servers, whereas client-server relies on centralized servers for core functionality.
What is a mainframe?
A powerful, reliable computer system used for large-scale processing with vast storage and peripherals.
What are supercomputers used for?
Highly intensive tasks like weather forecasting, physics simulations, and crypto-analysis.
What metric is used to measure supercomputer performance?
FLOPS
What 2 scales of FLOPS are most common in Supercomputers?
PetaFLOP (10^15) ops
ExaFLOP (10^18) ops
What is Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)?
A software design style where components are encapsulated as reusable services that communicate via protocols.
What is N-tier architecture?
A multi-tiered client-server architecture dividing components into tiers like presentation, logic, and data.
What is Moore’s Law?
The observation that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years, improving speed and reducing cost.
What is exascale computing?
Computing with a performance goal of 1 ExaFLOP (10^18 operations per second), a target for global competition.
