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Control bus
View on WikipediaIn computer architecture, a control bus is part of the system bus and is used by CPUs for communicating with other devices within the computer. While the address bus carries the information about the device with which the CPU is communicating and the data bus carries the actual data being processed, the control bus carries commands from the CPU and returns status signals from the devices. For example, if the data is being read or written to the device the appropriate line (read or write) will be active (logic one).
Lines
[edit]The number and type of lines in a control bus varies but there are basic lines common to all microprocessors, such as:
- Read (). A single line that when active (logic zero) indicates the device is being read by the CPU.
- Write (). A single line that when active (logic zero) indicates the device is being written by the CPU.
- Byte enable (). A group of lines that indicate the size of the data (8, 16, 32, 64 bytes).
The RD and WR signals of the control bus control the reading or writing of RAM, avoiding bus contention on the data bus.[1]
Additional lines are microprocessor-dependent, such as:
- Transfer ACK ("acknowledgement"). Delivers information that the data was acknowledged (read) by the device.
- Bus request (BR, BREQ, or BRQ). Indicates a device is requesting the use of the (data) bus.
- Bus grant (BG or BGRT). Indicates the CPU has granted access to the bus.
- Interrupt request (IRQ). A device with lower priority is requesting access to the CPU.
- Clock signals. The signal on this line is used to synchronize data between the CPU and a device.
- Reset. If this line is active, the CPU will perform a hard reboot.
Systems that have more than one bus master have additional control bus signals that control which bus master drives the address bus, avoiding bus contention on the address bus.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Ian Sinclair; John Dunton. "Practical Electronics Handbook". 2013. section "The control bus". p. 209-210.
External links
[edit]Control bus
View on GrokipediaFundamentals
Definition and Purpose
In computer architecture, the control bus is defined as a bidirectional set of parallel electrical wires or pathways that carry control signals between the processor and other components, such as memory and peripheral devices.[1] This bus forms a key part of the system bus, enabling the exchange of commands that dictate operational states and timing across the hardware.[6] Unlike data-carrying pathways, the control bus focuses exclusively on signaling to ensure orderly interactions within the system.[7] The primary purpose of the control bus is to manage and coordinate data flow by transmitting commands, such as read/write enables, interrupt requests, and clock synchronization signals, from the processor to peripherals and vice versa.[1] These signals determine the direction of data movement, grant access rights to shared resources, and synchronize actions to prevent conflicts among connected devices.[6] By doing so, the control bus facilitates efficient communication, allowing the system to respond to events like data requests or hardware interrupts in a structured manner.[2] Within the von Neumann architecture, the control bus plays a central role in enabling the CPU to orchestrate the sequence of operations, including the fetch-decode-execute cycle, by issuing directives that align memory access with processing tasks.[2] This coordination ensures that instructions and data are handled sequentially through a unified memory space, upholding the architecture's foundational principle of stored-program computing.[1] For instance, the control bus signals the initiation of a read operation to retrieve an instruction from memory, thereby driving the overall execution flow.[6] In a basic system bus integration, the control bus operates alongside the address bus, which specifies locations, and the data bus, which transfers actual content, forming a tripartite pathway from the CPU to memory and peripherals. A simplified text-based representation illustrates this:CPU ───────── Address Bus ───────┐
─ Control Bus ────────┤── Memory
── Data Bus ──────────┘
│
Peripherals
CPU ───────── Address Bus ───────┐
─ Control Bus ────────┤── Memory
── Data Bus ──────────┘
│
Peripherals
