Input and Output (I/O ) Organization

Objectives
To understand:
 Role of Input / Output devices
Role of I/O controller
I/O Design factors
Input/Output Problems
Types of typical I/O devices
Types of Buses in computer system
Interfacing I/O devices to processor memory
and operating systems
I/O Data Transfer Methods

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 1

 Computer Input / Output devices

• Through input and output devices, people provide data

and instructions to the computer and receive results from
it
• I/O devices provide a method for transferring information
between internal storage (such as memory and CPU
registers) and external I/O devices
• Resolves the differences between the computer and
peripheral devices

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 2

Computer Input / Output devices(contd.)

 Peripherals - Electromechanical Devices

 CPU or Memory - Electronic Device
 Data Transfer Rate
– Peripherals - Usually slower
– CPU or Memory - Usually faster than peripherals
Some kinds of Synchronization mechanism may be needed
 Unit of Information
– Peripherals – Byt
– CPU or Memory - Word
 Operating Modes
– Peripherals - Autonomous, Asynchronous
– CPU or Memory - Synchronous

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 3

 Computer Input / Output devices(contd.)

Interrupts
Processor

Cache

Memory– I/O bus

I/O I/O I/O

Main controller controller controller
memory

Graphics Network
Disk Disk
output

• I/O is the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, legs, etc. of the
computer system. Imagine a computer without I/O.
Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 4
 Role of I/O controller

• Each peripheral device has an interface (an I/O controller)

associated with it.
• I/O controller (duties)
 Decodes the device address (device code)
 Decodes the commands (operation)
 Provides signals for the peripheral controller
 Synchronizes the data flow and supervises the transfer rate
between peripheral and CPU or Memory

• Typical I/O instruction

Op. code Device address Function code
(Command)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 5

 I/O Design factors

• Design factors:
– I/O device characteristics (input, output, storage, etc.).
– I/O Connection Structure (degree of separation from
memory operations).
– I/O interface (the utilization of dedicated I/O and bus
controllers).
– Types of buses (processor-memory vs. I/O buses).
– I/O data transfer or synchronization method
(programmed I/O, interrupt-driven, DMA).

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 6

 Diversity of I/O systems

Three characteristics are useful in organizing the wide

variety of I/O systems.
Behavior : Input (read once), Output (write only) or
storage
Partner : Either Human or a machine at the end of the I/O
device.
Data rate : The peak rate at which the data can be
transferred between the i/o devices and main memory or
processor.
Ex : A key board device is used by a human with data rate
about 10 bytes per second.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 7

 Input/Output Problems

• Wide variety of peripherals

– Delivering different amounts of data
– At different speeds
– In different formats
• All slower than CPU and RAM
• Need I/O modules (or interface device)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 8

 I/O Characteristics and Functionality

• Nature of data- data can be human-readable or

machine-readable
• Data entry: converts human-readable data into
machine-readable form
• Data input: transfers machine-readable data
into system
• Source data automation: capturing and editing
data where the data is initially created and in a
form that can be directly input to a computer
Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 9
 Input Devices

• Personal computer input devices

– Keyboard

• Screen Input Devices

- Touch Screen
- Light Pen
- Mouse

• Terminals
– Input and display devices that perform
data entry and input at same time
– Office, warehouse, factory

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 10

 Input Devices (contd.)

• Speech-recognition technology
– Input devices that recognize human speech
– e.g. automate account
identification process

• Digital cameras

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 11

 Input Devices (contd.)

• Scanning devices
• Optical data readers
 Special scanner
 OMR – standardized tests
 OCR – convert handwritten
to typed doc into digital data
• Magnetic stripe card
– Swipe card
• Point-of-sale (POS) devices
– Used in retail operations to
enter sales information

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 12

 Input Devices (continued)

• Automated teller machine (ATM) devices

• Pen input devices
• Touch-sensitive screens
• Bar-code scanners
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 13

 Output Devices

• Display monitors

• Liquid crystal displays (LCDs)

• Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 14

 Output Devices(contd.)

• Printers and plotters

• Digital audio player

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 15

Special-Purpose Input and Output Devices

• Computer-based navigation systems

– GPSs (Global positioning system),
satellite based radio navigating system
– Guide to specific destination

• Multiple function printers

– Print, copy, fax,scan

• Eyebud screens
– Portable media devices
– Display video in front of one eye

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 16

Summary (Typical I/O devices)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 17

Typical Computer System Architecture
System Bus or Front Side Bus (FSB)

Memory Controller
(Chipset North Bridge)

I/O Controller Hub

(Chipset South Bridge)

Isolated I/O

I/O Subsystem

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 18

Typical System Architecture(contd.)

• Functions of Buses (based on Slide)

– Memory bus is for information transfers between CPU and the MM
– I/O bus is for information transfers between CPU and I/O devices
through their I/O interface

Physical Organizations
– Many computers use a common single bus system for both memory
and I/O interface units
• Use one common bus but separate control lines for each function
• Use one common bus with common control lines for both functions
– Some computer systems use two separate buses, one to communicate
with memory and the other with I/O interfaces

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 19

 I/O controller

I/O Interface, I/O controller or I/O bus adapter:

– Specific to each type of I/O device.

– To the CPU, and I/O device, it consists of a set of control and data
registers (usually memory-mapped) within the I/O address space.

– On the I/O device side, it forms a localized I/O bus which can be
shared by several I/O devices
• (e.g IDE, SCSI, USB ...)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 20

 I/O controller duties

• Control & Timing

• CPU Communication

• Device Communication
• Data Buffering

• Error Detection

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 21

 Types of Buses in The System (1/2)

• Processor-Memory Bus

• System Bus, Front Side Bus, (FSB)

– Should offer very high-speed (bandwidth) and low
latency.
– Matched to the memory system performance to maximize
memory-processor bandwidth.
– Usually design-specific (not an industry standard).

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 22

 Types of Buses in The System (2/2)

• I/O buses (sometimes called an interface):

– Follow bus industry standards.
– Usually formed by I/O interface adapters to handle many
types of connected I/O devices.
– Wide range in the data bandwidth and latency
– Not usually interfaced directly to memory instead
connected processor-memory bus via a bus adapter
(chipset south bridge).
– Examples:
• Main system I/O bus: PCI, PCI-X, PCI Express
• Storage: SATA, IDE, SCSI.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 23

 Interfacing I/O devices to processor,
memory and operating systems

Giving Commands to i/o devices

Basically two techniques are used to address the devices.
1.Memory-mapped I/O : An i/o scheme in which portions
of address space are assigned to i/o devices.
Ex : Simple printer has 2 i/o device registers.
a. Status register : It contains done bit and error bit.
b. Data register : The data to be printed is put into this
register.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 24

 Interfacing I/O devices … (contd.)

2. Alternative method is to use dedicated i/o instructions in

the processor.
These specify both the device no. and command word.

The processor communicates via a set of wires normally

included as a part of i/o bus.
Commands can be transmitted over data lines in the bus.

Ex : Intel IA32, IBM 370.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 25

 Interfacing I/O devices … (contd.)

• I/O devices are interfaced via an I/O controller

– Takes care of low-level operations details
• Several ways of mapping I/O
– Memory-mapped I/O
• Reading and writing similar to memory read/write
• Uses same memory read and write signals
• Most processors use this I/O mapping
– Isolated I/O
• Separate I/O address space
• Separate I/O read and write signals are needed
• Pentium supports isolated I/O
– Also supports memory-mapped I/O

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 26

 Interfacing I/O devices … (contd.)

 Separate I/O address space

CPU Memory

Memory Addressing Wires (Ax)

Bus Data Wires (Dx)

I/O Devices Addressing Wires

(1) Specify memory address using “memory addressing wires”

(2) Send/receive data to/from the memory address (using “data wires”)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 27

 Interfacing I/O devices … (contd.)
 Separate I/O address space

CPU Memory

Memory Addressing Wires

Data Wires

I/O Devices Addressing Wires

HDD Keyboard Monitor

(1) Specify I/O device (port) address using “I/O addressing wires”
(2) Send/receive data to/from the specified I/O device using “data wires”

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 28

 Interfacing I/O devices … (contd.)
 Memory-Mapped I/O

CPU Memory

Memory Addressing Wires

Data Wires

HDD Keyboard Monitor I/O devices are also

addressed by memory
address wires

(1) Specify memory address using “memory addressing wires”

(2) Send/receive data to/from the memory address

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 29

 I/O Data Transfer Methods (1/3)

1. Programmed I/O : Polling (For low-speed I/O)

 The I/O device puts its status information in a status
register.
 The processor must periodically check the status register.
 The processor is totally in control and does all the work.
 Very wasteful of processor time.
 Used for low-speed I/O devices (mice, keyboards etc.)

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 30

 I/O Data Transfer Methods (2/3)

2. Interrupt-Driven I/O (For medium-speed I/O):

 An interrupt line from the I/O device to the CPU is used to
generate an I/O interrupt indicating that the I/O device needs
CPU attention.
 The interrupting device places its identity in an interrupt vector.
 Once an I/O interrupt is detected the current instruction is
completed and an I/O interrupt handling routine (by OS) is
executed to service the device.
 Used for moderate speed I/O (optical drives, storage, neworks ..)
 Allows overlap of CPU processing time and I/O processing time

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 31

 Transferring data b/n I/O device and
memory using DMA(3/3)

3. Direct Memory Access (DMA) (For high-speed I/O):

 Implemented with a specialized controller that transfers data
between an I/O device and memory independent of the
processor(with out involving the processor).
 The DMA controller becomes the bus master and directs reads
and writes between itself and memory.
 Interrupts are still used only on completion of the transfer or
when an error occurs.
 Low CPU overhead, used in high speed I/O (storage, network
interfaces)
 Allows more overlap of CPU processing time and I/O
processing time than interrupt-driven I/O.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 32

 DMA transfer steps

• DMA transfer steps:

– The CPU sets up DMA by supplying device identity,
operation, memory address of source and destination of
data, the number of bytes to be transferred.
– The DMA controller starts the operation. When the
data is available it transfers the data, including
generating memory addresses for data to be
transferred.
– Once the DMA transfer is complete, the controller
interrupts the processor, which determines whether the
entire operation is complete.

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 33

Summary(Methods to communicate I/O
devices)

Methods Direction Who do it?

 Interrupt  I/O device  Memory The main processor

 Programmed-I/O  Memory  I/O device The main processor

 Polling  I/O device  Memory The main processor

 I/O device  Memory The shared central DMA

 Centralized-DMA  Memory  I/O device (on the motherboard)

 I/O device  Memory

 On-Card DMA On-card DMA
 Memory  I/O device

“DMA” = “Direct Memory Access”

Source: Feleke Merin (Dr. –Eng.) 34