Computer bus: what is it, what is it for and how are they classified in computer science?

There is no more notable work of electronic and computer engineers than the development of the various buses. Thanks to the development of this type of architecture, today we can have in our hands, cell phones and computers with very large memory capacities and at the same time easy to execute with almost instantaneous functions.

A mobile device, on its circuit boards, really showcases extraordinary bus designs , turning them into real tools that we cannot miss today.

In this article, we will explain what buses are in computer science and we will also detail the different classes that exist for each of them and their different functions. We will also talk about the evolution of these buses and which is reflected in their different generations.

What is a bus and what is its use in computing?

The computer bus is the system by which the various components of a computer transfer and connect the data that they share with each other.

This is done through a circuit printed on different plates and composed of cables or tracks, resistors (which are responsible for the introduction of electrical resistance on certain parts of the circuit) and capacitors (responsible for functioning as energy storage they need. these circuits).

There are two types of data transfer in computer architecture. The first is serial transfer which can carry one bit at a time. The other type of transfer is the parallel call which can transfer up to 8 bits at a time.

Currently, channels are used to carry several buses at the same time, the most used being the serial type. We will develop this topic in more depth in the last part of this article.

Thanks to the existence of these computer buses, we can make the microprocessor communicate with the memory; and entry ports , such as keyboard, mouse and microphone; et output ports such whether the monitor, printer, or speakers with the different parts of the operating system .

How does a computer bus work? Components and Features

The operation essentially consists of passing electrical signals through metallic conductors and being received by another component according to integrated protocols that they manage together.

They can also drive digitized signals and set their capacity based on the number of repetitions they can perform in a specific time, categorized by sending that frequency and the width of the data. This relationship is inversely proportional to each other.

The components of a bus are:

• Cables , used to transmit electricity.
• Plate, which comprises a circuit of paths, tracks and other elements printed with conductive materials or not of electricity. Its mission is to drive and supply data between components.
• Resistances, as we have named, are electronic components designed to work as a resistance, that is, they analyze the transmission that exists between two points of the electrical frequency, generating a control of the maximum current flowing through it .
• Capacitors work to store energy and at the same time transmit it to different elements that need electricity immediately. Your work is passive.

What are the main generations of buses that exist?

There are different generations of buses which have been altered by the discovery and development of better transfers across the canals.

Next, we will name each of the existing generations:

First generation

This generation takes place between the 70s and 80s where there were two buses, not intended for memory and the other bus was intended for the various devices that surrounded the memory.

In other words, with this generation, the computer worked with two defined areas and with specific instructions and timings for each of them.

Second generation

This stage is characterized by the increased speed and autonomy of the buses. The most important problem with this type of passive bus generation is that you had to use the CPU to control the buses, which allocated a significant portion of it.

The hierarchy between the different buses began to be established according to the degree of frequency. It takes place between the 90s and the beginning of this century .

Third generation

This is the generation that is used today and its most important feature is that it allows point-to-point connections, successfully fragmenting the routes or tracks through which data passes, thus reducing the number of connections and realizing serial interfaces.

It is a relatively new technology, it has been present in the IT market for 10 years .

How are computer buses classified? All types

Next, we will talk about how these computer buses are classified according to their functions:

Parallel bus

As we have already told you, a parallel bus is a bus dedicated to transmitting data one byte at a time and at the same time. It is characterized by a low frequency but containing a large amount of sent data.

Its connections are complex and the logic it maintains is simple. It is widely used for systems where little data or computing power is required.

These were the most used between the first and second gen, but had drawbacks in terms of the control that had to exist from the processor.

Serial bus

We also talked about it previously, a serial bus is one that is characterized by the ability to transmit up to bit by bit at the same time. Their bandwidth will depend on the frequency at which they are emitted because they are inversely proportional.

They are used today in particular for SSD hard disks because they allow greater efficiency in the transmission of information.

Control

Control buses are an integral part of parallel buses and are responsible for transmitting any data or signals so that you can control devices that need to communicate.

They are widely used in status indicators because they can govern each of the components that have connections or lines shared with each other.

Of data

Which can move the bits randomly, so it needs a power supply to be able to exchange data directly with the CPU. You can control the data bus and the address bus in terms of use and access.

Of management

An address bus is a bus which can have a number to assign to a memory or to a memory cell in main memory, for example RAM.

It is independent of the data bus and can work directly with the microprocessor via a channel assigned for this purpose.

Multiplex

This class of bus is responsible for being able to transmit electricity sometimes to an address bus and other times to the data bus with the characteristic of never doing so at the same time.

The chipset How does it relate to computer buses?

The Chipset is the set of integrated circuits that is housed in the motherboard or "motherboard" and its main function is to collect data from all processes and send it to the right recipient.

It is the one that controls the various functions of the hardware and access to memory, among other functions. In other words, it allows the motherboard to connect to the most important components of our PC, making the motherboard the main protagonist of the entire hardware operating system of our equipment.

From this we can conclude that the chipset is closely related to the computer buses because without them there could not be communication to collect and send the processes.

In addition, the chipset is also designed with a computer architecture using different buses to be able to connect between its internal components .

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments, we will get back to you as soon as possible, and it will be a great help for more community members as well. Thank you!