CHAPITRE 07 Control Unit

Higher National School of Renewable Energies,
Environment and Sustainable Development
CONTROL UNIT
3RD YEAR IRIA

COURSE COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE
A.CHENNA
MAIL: A.CHENNA@HNS-RE2SD.DZ
CHAPTER CONTENT
RÉSEAUX
Introduction
PROCESSEUR
CLOUD COMPUTING
Hardwired CU
SERVEUR
Micro programmable
control unit.
INTRODUCTION
• A Central Processing Unit is the most important component of a

computer system.
• A control unit is a part of the CPU.
• A control unit controls the operations of all parts of the computer but it
does not carry out any data processing operations.
THE CONTROL UNIT (CU)
• CU is the part of the computer’s CPU, which directs the operations of

the processor
• It is the responsibility of the control unit to tell the computer’s memory,
arithmetic/logic unit, and input/output devices how to respond to the
instructions that have been sent by the processor.
• Examples of devices that require a CU are:
• Central Processing Units(CPUs)
• Graphics Processing Units(GPUs)
BLOC DIAGRAM OF THE CONTROL UNIT
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 or commands to converts it to sequence of control
signals.
FUNCTIONS OF THE CONTROL UNIT
• It controls execution units(i.e. ALU, data buffers and registers) contained within a
CPU.
• It also handles multiple tasks, such as fetching, decoding, and storing results.
TYPES OF CONTROL UNIT
• There are two types of control units:

• Hardwired
• Micro programmable control unit.
HARDWIRED CONTROL UNIT
• The hardwired control unit uses the logic circuit so that it can generate the control
signals, which are required for the processor.
• Characteristics:
• The control signals are directly generated by logic circuits.
• The circuitry is designed and permanently wired to execute specific functions
for each instruction.
HARDWIRED CONTROL UNIT
• It is faster in terms of execution since there is no need for interpretation of
control signals; the operations are directly determined by the hardware.
• It lacks flexibility because any changes in control behavior require physical
changes to the circuitry.
MICROPROGRAMMABLE CONTROL UNIT:
• Definition: In a microprogrammable control unit, the control signals are generated

by a sequence of microinstructions stored in a control memory.
• Characteristics:
• The control memory contains a set of microinstructions, each specifying a
sequence of control signals.
MICROPROGRAMMABLE CONTROL UNIT:
• It allows for greater flexibility

• Execution is generally slower compared to hardwired control units because
there is an additional layer of interpretation of microinstructions.
• It is easier to modify or upgrade since changes can be made by updating the
microprogram without altering the hardware.
HARDWIRED VS MICROPROGRAMMABLE
• the choice between hardwired and microprogrammable control units involves

trade-offs between speed, flexibility, and ease of modification.
• Hardwired units are faster but less flexible, while microprogrammable units
offer greater flexibility at the cost of slightly slower execution.
• The decision often depends on the specific requirements and design goals of
the computer architecture.
MICROPROGRAM (MICROCODE)
• Definition: Microprogram is a sequence of microinstructions stored in a special
memory, such as (ROM) or (EEPROM).
• Role: These microinstructions outline the control steps necessary to execute a
specific machine instruction. Each machine instruction can be associated with a
unique sequence of microinstructions.
MICRO-INSTRUCTION
Definition: A micro-instruction is a low-level instruction or elementary operation

understood by the control unit of a processor.
• Each micro-instruction corresponds to a specific action, such as reading a register,
performing an arithmetic operation, etc.
Role: Micro-instructions are executed sequentially to accomplish a more complex task,
such as the execution of a machine instruction.
• Composition: A micro-instruction typically consists of various fields, such as control bits
that enable or disable certain processor functions, address bits to specify memory
locations, etc.
CONTROL SIGNALS
Here are some of the control signals that the control unit may send during different
stages of instruction execution:
• Instruction Fetch: Sends a signal to read the instruction from memory at the address
specified by the program counter.
• Instruction Decode: Sends signals to decode the instruction and determine the type of
operation to be performed.
CONTROL SIGNALS
• Register Access: Sends signals to read or write data to registers, based on the
instruction's requirements.
• Address Calculation: Sends signals to calculate necessary addresses, such as during
memory access.
• ALU Control: Sends signals to instruct the ALU on which arithmetic or logic operation
to perform.
CONTROL SIGNALS
• Bus Control: Sends signals to control data and address buses for facilitating
information transfer between different components.
• In summary, the control unit, is responsible for coordinating and controlling operations
within the CPU by sending appropriate signals to various components during
instruction execution.
CONTROL SIGNALS

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Higher National School of Renewable Energies,

Environment and Sustainable Development

3RD YEAR IRIA

• A Central Processing Unit is the most important component of a

• CU is the part of the computer’s CPU, which directs the operations of

• There are two types of control units:

• Definition: In a microprogrammable control unit, the control signals are generated

• It allows for greater flexibility

• the choice between hardwired and microprogrammable control units involves

Definition: A micro-instruction is a low-level instruction or elementary operation

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