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Explain why the single shared bus is so widely used asan inter connection medium in both sequential and parallel computers. What are its main disadvantages ?

The single shared bus is like a main road that connects all the processors and memory modules in a computer system.

Disadvantages:

  1. Simplicity and Cost-effectiveness: It’s like the basic, affordable option to connect multiple parts of a computer. Imagine it as a single road that all processors and memory modules can use.
  2. Compatibility and Ease of Use: Just like a well-designed road network, a shared bus allows different parts of the computer to communicate and work together smoothly. It’s like everyone speaking the same language, making it easier to coordinate tasks.
  3. High Bandwidth: Think of bandwidth as the number of lanes on the road. A shared bus can be designed to have a lot of lanes, allowing for fast data transfer between processors and memory.

However, there are downsides:

  1. Performance Limits: Imagine rush hour traffic on a single road. Only one car can pass through an intersection at a time. Similarly, with a shared bus, only one processor can access memory at any given moment. This can lead to some processors waiting around, not doing anything, which slows down the whole system. To cope, computers often use cache memory to store frequently accessed data closer to the processor.
  2. Single Point of Failure: If the main road gets blocked, no one can go anywhere. Similarly, if the shared bus fails, the whole system goes down. It’s like having a single light switch that controls all the lights in your house. If it breaks, you’re in the dark until it’s fixed.

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