Control Unit

&
its Design
 What is Control Unit
A control unit is a part of the CPU that controls the
operations of all parts of the computer but it does
not carry out any data processing operations.

It directs the operation of the processor.

Tell the memory, ALU, and I/O devices how to

respond to the instructions sent to the processor.

It fetches internal instructions of the programs

from the main memory to the processor
 based on this register contents, it generates a
control signal that supervises the execution of
these instructions.
It receives input and converts into control
signals, which are then sent to the processor.
The processor tells the attached hardware
what operations to perform.

The functions that a control unit performs

dependent CPU type because the architecture of the
CPU varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
Examples of devices that require a CU are:

Control Processing Units(CPUs)

Graphics Processing Units(GPUs)
 Functions of the Control Unit
It coordinates the sequence of data
movements into, out of, and between a
processor's many sub-units.
It interprets instructions.
It controls data flow inside the
processor.
It receives external instructions which it
converts to sequence of control signals.
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 It controls many execution units ([Link] , data
buffers and registers ) contained within a CPU.

It also handles multiple tasks, such as fetching,

decoding, execution and storing results.

Types of Control Unit

There are two types of control units:
Hardwired
Micro programmable control unit.
 Hardwired Control Unit
In Hardwired control unit, the control signals that are
important for instruction execution are generated by
specially designed hardware logical circuits.
We can not modify the signal generation method
without physical change of the circuit structure.
The op code of an instruction contains the basic data
for control signal generation.
In the instruction decoder, the operation code is
decoded.
The instruction decoder constitutes a set of many
decoders that decode different fields of the
instruction opcode. 8
output lines going out from the instruction
decoder obtains active signal values.
These output lines are connected to the
inputs of the matrix that generates control
signals for execution units of the computer.
This matrix implements logical
combinations of the decoded signals from
the instruction opcode.
The matrices are built in a similar way as a
programmable logic arrays.

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 10

Mr. Aliyu Sani Ahmad

 Micro Programmable Control Unit
• The difference between these and hardwired is
control store that is used for storing encoded
control signals mandatory for instruction
execution.

• In MPCU subsequent instruction words are

fetched from register in a normal way.

• However, the op-code of each instruction is not

directly decoded to enable control signal
generation but it carry the initial address of a
microprogram contained in the control store.
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single-level control store:
With a single-level control store: instruction opcode
from the register is sent to the control store register.
Based on the address, the first microinstruction of a
microprogram that interprets execution of this
instruction is read to the microinstruction register .
This microinstruction contains operation part
encoded control signals.
In a set microinstruction field decoders, the fields are
decoded.
The microinstruction has the address of the next
microinstruction to control activities of the
microinstruction address generator.
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Mr. Aliyu Sani Ahmad 13
With a two-level control store:

control unit with a two-level control store, besides

the control memory for microinstructions, a nano-
instruction memory is included.

The operation part of microinstructions contains

the address of the data in the nano-instruction
memory, which contains encoded control signals.

The nano-instruction memory contains all

combinations of control signals that appear in
microprograms that interpret the complete
instruction.
In this way, unnecessary storing of the same operation parts of
microinstructions is avoided.

In this case, microinstruction word can be much shorter than with

the single level control store.

It gives a much smaller size in bits of the microinstruction

memory, as a result, a much smaller size of the entire control
memory.

The microinstruction memory contains the control for selection of

consecutive microinstructions, while those control signals are
generated at the basis of nano-instructions.

In nano-instructions, control signals are frequently encoded using

1 bit/ 1 signal method that eliminates decoding.
Mr. Aliyu Sani Ahmad 16
Advantages of a Well-Designed Control Unit
Efficient instruction execution: A well-designed control unit
can execute instructions more efficiently by optimizing the
instruction and minimizing the number of clock cycles
required for each instruction.
Improved performance CPU: by increasing the clock speed,
reducing the latency.
Support for complex instructions: that require multiple
operations, reducing the number of instructions required to
execute a program.
Improved reliability: of the CPU by detecting and correcting
errors, such as memory errors.
Lower power consumption: reduce power consumption by
optimizing the use of resources, such as
registers and memoryMr.,Aliyu
and reducing the number of clock 17
Sani Ahmad
Better branch prediction: can improve branch prediction
accuracy.
Improved scalability: can improve the scalability of the
CPU, allowing it to handle larger and more complex
workloads.
Better support for parallelism: can better support
parallelism, allowing the CPU to execute multiple
instructions simultaneously.
Improved security: can improve the security of the CPU
by implementing security features such as address space
layout randomization and data execution prevention.
Lower cost: A well-designed control unit can reduce the
cost of the CPU by minimizing the number of
components required and improving manufacturing
efficiency.
 Disadvantages of a Poorly-Designed Control Unit
Reduced performance: A poorly-designed control unit can
reduce the performance of the CPU by increasing the
latency, and reducing the throughput.
Increased complexity: can increase the complexity of the
CPU, making it harder to design, test, and maintain.
Higher power consumption: can increase power
consumption by inefficiently using resources, such as
registers and memory, and requiring more clock cycles for
each instruction.
Reduced reliability: can reduce the reliability of the CPU by
introducing errors, such as memory errors and.
Limitations on instruction set: A poorly-designed control
unit may limit the instruction set of the CPU, making it
harder to execute complex instructions and limiting the
functionality of the CPU.
Inefficient use of resources: A poorly-designed control unit
may inefficiently use resources such as registers and
memory, leading to wasted resources and reduced
performance.
Limited scalability: A poorly-designed control unit may limit
the scalability of the CPU, making it harder to handle larger
and more complex workloads.
Poor support for parallelism: A poorly-designed control
unit may limit the ability of the CPU to support parallelism,
reducing the overall performance of the system.
Security vulnerabilities: A poorly-designed control unit may
introduce security vulnerabilities, such as buffer overflows
or code injection attacks.
Higher cost: A poorly-designed control unit may increase
the cost of the CPU by requiring additional components or
increasing the manufacturing complexity