Fundementals Of Computer Systems Flashcards
(31 cards)
What is a computer system
Something made up of hardware and software that works riverbed to create a working g solution to a problem
What is the basic model of any computer system
Input –> CPU –> Output
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Storage
What do input devises to
Take real life/ world data do convert it into a form that a co outer can understand and store
What does output do
Converts digital data into something real life such as making a door open or changing the pixels on a monitor
What is storage for
Storing data which may need to be used to process and perform certain action
Why must computers be robust and reliable
If they break, all sorts of problems can occur such as no cs or bank security may be compromised
How is reliability measured
Manufacturers often give a percent of the time the device works for during period of time. E.g. 99 hours working and down for 1 hour. System availability is 99%
Another way is MTBF, mean time between failures, this can also be used to measure reliability
What is a robust system
A system that won’t fail due to a single fault.this kind of system is described as fault tolerant
What is hardware redundancy
Having extra redundant backup systems in case one fails, e.g. Backup hard drives
What are disaster recovery plans
They are used by companies that totally rely on their computer systems. They are used so if there computer system fails, they can switch to a completely new one with all the important data on within hours
What is the data protection act
Any personal details on a computer must be kept secure and any personal data on company computers must have security mechanisms in place
What does the health and safety at work at mean for computers
Screen layout and software use must be safe, e.g. Won’t cause seizures
There should be appropriate desks, ventilation, lighting and adjustable chairs
The copyright, designs and patents act
It’s illegal so copy other people’s work, plagerism
Illégal to use software thats not yours without the appropriate licence
Benefits to society with computers
Lot easier and faster to communicate with people all over the world
Lots more jobs and people get things done much faster such as company payrolls, they used to be done manually but now it can be don’t automatically
Social interaction, meet people from all over the world, however some argue people are losing the ability to interact face to face
How have computers benefited shopping
People who struggle to go to shops such as the disabled and elderly can now order almost everything they may need online including food
Benefits of computers for manufacturing
Things can be made much cheaper and faster as less handmade low less human error. However, there has been a reduced market in handmade products
Safety
Lots of dangerous jobs can now be dont using computer systems such as bomb disposal or volcano activity data collections
What are system buses
Internal connections in the cpu that moves data from the main memory of it and the processing part
What are the three parts of a cpu
Processor
Cache memory
Main memory
What happens in the cpu when a program is to be run
First it is loaded onto the main memory
Then it can be accessed by the processor which then executes each instruction 1 at a time
Once they are all done and the program is loaded, the processor is given the start address of where the program is in the main memory
To run the program, the processor fetches an instruction, decodes and executes it
The processor fetches one instruction at a time
What is a fetch execute cycle
The cycle of running a program in which the processor fetches an instruction from the main memory, decodes it, executes it, fetches another instruction
What is the clock speed of a processor
The amount of times per second electrical currant is cycled/ changes. Usually measured in GHz
What is a “bottleneck”
It’s something that occurs when there is a slow component in the computer system that ends up slowing down the whole thing, only go as fast as the slowest component. E.g. Main memory works much slower than the processor can so faster more expensive memory needs to be used, cache
Why is cache so important
It is a lot faster than main memory, although much smaller. Cache means the processor has to access the main memory much less often so it can work faster without being slowed.
