Hardwired Control

Hardwired Control

• In the hardwired control, the control units use fixed logic circuits to interpret instructions and generate control signals from them.

• The fixed logic circuits use contents of the control step counter, contents of the instruction register, contents of the condition code flag and the external input signals such as MFC and interrupt requests to generate control signals.

• Fig. 3.5.1 shows the typical hardwired control unit. Here, the fixed logic circuit block includes combinational circuit (decoder and encoder) that generates the required control outputs, depending on the state of all its inputs.

• By separating the decoding and encoding functions, we can draw more detail block diagram for hardwired control unit as shown in Fig. 3.5.2.

• The instruction decoder decodes the instruction loaded in the IR. If IR is an 8‒bit register then instruction decoder generates 2⁸, i.e. 256 lines; one for each instruction. According to code in the IR, only one line amongst all output lines of decoder goes high i.e., set to 1 and all other lines are set to 0.

• The step decoder provides a separate signal line for each step, or time slot, in a control sequence. The encoder gets in the input from instruction decoder, step decoder, external inputs and condition codes. It uses all these inputs to generate the individual control signals.

• After execution of each instruction end signal is generated which resets control step counter and make it ready for generation of control step for next instruction.

• Let us see how the encoder generates signal for single bus processor organisation shown in Fig. 3.5.3. The encoder circuit implements the following logic function to generate Y_in.

 Y_in = T₁ + T₆ . ADD T₄ .BRANCH +…

• The Y_in signal is asserted during time interval T₁ for all instructions, during T₆ for an ADD instruction, during T₄ for an unconditional BRANCH instruction and so on.

• As another example, the logic function to generate Z_out signal can given by,

 Z_out = T₂ +T₇ . ADD + T₆ . BRANCH + ...

• The Z_out signal is asserted during time interval T₂ of all instructions, during T₇ for an ADD instruction, during T₆ for an unconditional branch instruction and so on.

• Fig. 3.5.3 and 3.5.4 shows the hardware implementation of logic functions for Y_in and Z_out control signals.

Example: 1

Generate the logic circuit for the following function

End = T₇ .ADD +T₅ BR + (T₅ . N + T₄ . ) BRN + ….

Solution:

Fig. 3.5.5 shows the circuit that generates the End control signal from the logic function.

End = T₇ . ADD + T₅ . BR + (T₅ . N + T₄) . BRN + ......

Advantages of hardwired control unit

• Hardwired control unit is fast because control signals are generated by combinational circuits.

• The delay in generation of control signals depends upon the number of gates.

• It has greater chip area efficiency since its uses less area on‒chip.

Disadvantages of hardwired control unit

• More the control signals required by CPU; more complex will be the design of control unit.

• Modifications in control signal are very difficult. That means it requires rearranging of wires in the hardware circuit.

• It is difficult to correct mistake in original design or adding new feature in existing design of control unit.

Review Questions

1. Draw and explain typical hardwired control unit.

2. With a diagram which shows the separation decoding and encoding functions, explain hardwired control.

3. Show the generation Z_in and end control signal.