Components of the processor. From sand to processor. Processor characteristics: process type
Hello dear readers. Today we will show you what a processor consists of from the inside. Many users, of course, have had experience installing a processor on a motherboard, but not many know what it looks like from the inside. We will try to explain to you sufficiently in simple language, so that it would be clear, but at the same time without omitting details. Before we start talking about components processor, you can get acquainted with the very interesting Russian prototype Elbrus.
Depending on the processor, a failed branch prediction could mean discarding a dozen pipeline instructions or more - and wasting many cycles. There is another problem with the pipeline model as we described it above. In our examples, we assumed that fetching instructions and data from system memory could be completed in a single clock cycle.
To get around this, modern processors use two approaches. In addition to caching, processors can also implement out-of-order execution. A buffering system is used to ensure that instructions take effect in the correct order, even if they are executed out of sequence.
Many users believe that the processor looks exactly as shown in the picture.
However, this is the entire assembly, which consists of smaller and vital parts. Let's take a look at what the processor consists of from the inside. The processor includes:
This allows them to iterate over multiple instructions at once, which in turn means you can run more programs at the same time. Availability multi-core processor usually doesn't speed things up individual programs. This is because most programs are designed in a strict linear fashion, so the second command, for example, must be executed after the first has completed, rather than at the same time.
However, some types of tasks can be split into multiple threads. In this way, the total encoding time can be quartered. In fact, the core can only process one instruction at a time, but has two sets of registers, allowing it to switch its attention back and forth between the two threads to make the most of its processing power.
The figure above, number 1, shows a protective cover that provides mechanical protection from dust and other small particles. The cover is made of a material that has a high thermal conductivity coefficient, which allows you to remove excess heat from the crystal, thereby ensuring the normal temperature range of the processor.
As expected, the advantage is smaller than you might see on two physical cores. This means they can handle huge numbers at full speed with excellent accuracy. Implementing these special instructions involves significant engineering work during the design phase, but once the feature is there, it can greatly enhance tasks such as video processing and data compression.
Another type of extension that is usually found in modern processors, is hardware virtualization. Typically virtualization software acts as a middle man between virtual environment and real hardware resources, which can significantly slow down the work. Virtualization extensions allow you to run on virtual machine code running directly on the processor, at full speed - but instructions that cannot be executed natively are automatically captured so they can be processed software virtualization.
Number 2 shows the “brain” of the processor and the computer as a whole - this is a crystal. It is he who is considered the most “smart” element of the processor, which performs all the tasks assigned to it. You can see that a thin layer of microcircuit is applied to the crystal, which ensures the specified functioning of the processor. Most often, processor crystals are made of silicon: this is due to the fact that this element has quite complex molecular bonds that are used in the formation of internal currents, which ensures the creation of multi-threaded information processing.
Extensions can also be used for security purposes. In fact, it is a miracle of technology. But within a given family, it is likely that most models will use the same basic design. Physical arrangement of transistors inside different models functionally identical. This approach makes commercial sense because creating a photolithographic process is not cheap. But this means that if any bugs find their way into the process, they will affect the entire processor family.
In such cases, the only thing to do is to revise the design and introduce the so-called new "stepping". Even when there is no problem with the chip, it is common for processors to have multiple steppings over the course of their life. When the processor is taxed, the speed immediately increases again. This allows the computer to deliver full performance when the user wants it, while consuming less heat and consuming less power when the user is doing something passive, such as reading a web page.
Number 3 shows the textolite platform to which everything else was attached: the crystal and the lid. This platform also acts as a good conductor, which ensures good electrical contact with the crystal. On the back side of the platform, in order to increase electrical conductivity, there are many points made of precious metal (sometimes even gold is used).
When only one or two cores were used, it was possible to automatically increase the speed of those cores while staying within the overall heat and power budget. The ability of a computer to process multiple tasks simultaneously is called multiprocessing. A multiprocessing operating system is capable of running many programs simultaneously, and most modern network operating systems support multiprocessing.
The main reason why multiprocessing is more difficult than single processing is that it OS are responsible for allocating resources to competing processes in a controlled environment. With the rise of commercial networking, the practice of using multiple processors on embedded motherboards has become almost universal. Not long ago, customers or network administrators designed most multiprocessing configurations at the board or system level.
Here's what electrically conductive points look like using an Intel processor as an example.
The shape of the contacts depends on which socket is on motherboard. It also happens that instead of the dots on the back of the platform, you can see pins that perform the same role. Typically, for Intel family of processors, the pins are located on the motherboard itself. In this case, points will be located on the substrate (aka platform). For the family AMD processors the pins are located directly on the substrate itself. Such processors look like this:
Today there are motherboards with multiple microprocessors on a single chip. A multiprocessor system uses more than one processor to process any given workload, increasing the performance of the system's application environment beyond that of a single processor. This allows you to tune the server's network performance to provide the required functionality. As described in Chapter 2, “Server Availability,” this feature is known as scalability and is the most important aspect of a multiprocessor system architecture.
Now let's look at the method of attaching all the parts. In order for the lid to be firmly held on the substrate, it is “seated” using a special glue-sealant that is resistant to high temperatures. This allows the structure to be in permanent connection without violating its integrity.
The scalable system architecture allows network administrators to tune the server's network performance based on the number of processing nodes required. Collections of processors arranged in a loosely coupled configuration and communicating with each other over a communication channel have been the most common multiprocessor architecture.
This communication channel may not necessarily consist of a conventional serial or parallel device. Instead, it may consist of shared memory shared by processors on the same board or even across a backplane. These communicating processors operate as independent nodes using their own memory subsystems.
To ensure that the crystal does not overheat, a special gasket 1 is applied to it, on top of which, in turn, thermal paste 2 is applied, which ensures effective heat removal to the lid. The lid is also “lubricated” on the inside with thermal paste.
Recently, the space of built-in server boards was organized to house tightly coupled processors, either as a pair or as an array. These processors share a common bus and address memory. The switch connects them, and interprocessor communication is carried out through message passing. In an overall system configuration, the processors operate as a single node and appear as a single processing element. Additional loosely coupled processing nodes increase the overall processing power of the system.
As more tightly coupled processors are added, the total processing power of a single node increases. These processors have gone through many stages of improvement in recent years. Dual processor systems are intended for use exclusively with dual processor motherboards with one or two sockets. Multiprocessor systems typically have board space for four or more processors, although there are no minimum requirements.
Let's now see what a dual-core processor looks like. The core is a separate, functionally independent crystal, which is installed in parallel on the substrate. It looks like this.
Thus, 2 cores installed side by side increase the total processor power. However, if you see 2 crystals standing next to each other, this will not always mean that you have a dual-core processor. On some sockets, 2 crystals are installed, one of which is responsible for the arithmetic-logical part, and the other for graphics processing (a certain built-in GPU). This comes in handy in cases where you have a built-in video card that is not powerful enough to handle, for example, some game. In these cases, the lion's share of calculations is taken over by the graphical part central processor. This is what a processor with a graphics core looks like.
Dual processors were designed to operate at higher clock speeds than multiprocessors, making them more efficient at processing high-speed mathematical calculations. Multiprocessors are designed for collaboration with large databases and business transactions.
It is possible to identify different categories of multiprocessor systems. General access Shared drives Shared memory cluster Shared memory. . Although such systems have the advantages of good scalability and high availability, they have the disadvantage of using an unusual message passing programming model.
So, friends, we figured out what the processor consists of. It has now become clear that all devices included in the processor play an important and indispensable role for high-quality work. Don’t forget to comment on articles on our site, subscribe to our newsletter and learn a lot of interesting things. Your opinion is important to us!
How the processor core works
Again, communication between processors is accomplished through message passing. The advantages of shared disks are that disk data is addressable and consistent, whereas high availability more easily obtained than in systems with shared memory. The disadvantage is that there may be limited scalability due to physical and logical access bottlenecks to shared data.
However, the processors are tightly coupled through a switch, and communication between processors is done through shared memory. In strictly distributed memory, all processors are tightly coupled via a high-speed bus on the same motherboard. The explosion of bandwidth for network servers has placed unreasonable demands on single-processor systems that cannot handle the workload! Its high performance is due to the fact that a multi-processor motherboard can handle multiple data processing paths, whereas a single-processor motherboard can only utilize the capabilities of a single processor.
| Authors of the article: Gvindzhiliya Grigory and Pashchenko Sergey |
