CPUs and architecture

Which mechanism transfers data directly between peripherals and memory without going through the CPU?

  1. ATLB
  2. BSIMD
  3. CDMA (direct memory access)
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Answer: C. DMA (direct memory access)

With DMA, a dedicated controller transfers data between memory and peripherals, so the CPU can continue with other work during the transfer. It is used where large amounts of data are moved, such as storage and networking.

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  1. Which LSI integrates a CPU, memory and peripherals such as timers and ADCs on one chip and is used to control appliances and equipment?
  2. In a multicore CPU, which mechanism keeps data consistent when the caches of several cores hold data for the same address?
  3. Which technique reduces CPU power consumption by dynamically changing operating frequency and supply voltage according to the load?
  4. Which is an example of vulnerabilities revealing attacks that exploit traces of speculative execution left in the cache to infer data that should not be accessible?
  5. Which metric indicates the amount of heat generated under a standard heavy load, used as a guide for CPU cooling design?