10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs.

Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-

programmed Control Unit
To understand the horizontal and vertical control unit, we will first learn about the control unit, micro-
programmed, and then the micro-programmed control unit. After that, we will learn the difference
between horizontal and vertical control units.

Control unit

The control unit can be described as a part of the CPU (Central processing unit). It is an engine that
uses the proper sequence of control signals so that it can run the entire functions of a system or
computer. It is used to direct the operations of a processor. The work of CU is to tell the memory of
system, input and output devices, and arithmetic or logical unit that how they should respond to
those types of instructions that have been sent to the processor.

Micro-programming

Microprogramming can be described as the process of writing microcode to control memory of the
CPU. When the configuration of a computer and the establishment of a micro-programmed control
unit are done perfectly, only after that, microcode for control memory can be generated. The control
unit is used to contain the control memory, which can be used to store all micro-programs. These
types of micro-programs cannot be frequently modified. The microinstruction can be specified with
the help of each line of micro-program, and these instructions are used to define one or more than
one micro-operation.

Micro-programmed Control Unit

A micro-programmed control unit is used to execute each instruction with the help of generating
control signals. A special memory unit is used in the micro-programmed control unit. With the help
of this memory, we can store the control signals that are related to the operations. We can assume a
set of control signals, which can be performed the specific micro-operations as being
"microinstructions". With the help of internal control unit, we can store the sequence of
microinstructions. There are two types of micro-programmed control units on the basis of control
words, which are saved in the control memory. These micro-programmed control units are the
Vertical micro-programmed control units and the horizontal micro-programmed control units. Now
we will describe both the control unit one by one like this:

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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Horizontal Micro-programmed Control unit

With the help of decoded binary format, we can represent the control signals in the horizontal micro-
programmed control unit, i.e., 1bit/CS. Here, n bit encoding is needed for 'n' control signals. With the
help of a single control point, each bit is identified in the horizontal micro-programmed CU. This
Control point is used to show that the corresponding micro-operation is going to be executed. In this
control unit, every micro-program needs less number of micro-instructions. The several resources can
be controlled simultaneously with the help of each and every micro-instruction. It also has a bigger
advantage, i.e., it has the ability to utilize more efficient hardware.

A higher degree of parallelism is provided by the horizontal CU. This parallelism contains a separate
control field and a minimum number of encoding. In the horizontal CU, the task to develop the
micro-programs with the help of using resources efficiently and optimally is very complex. Each
control bit in the horizontal micro-programmed control unit is independent to each other. That's why
this CU provides great flexibility. The horizontal microinstruction contains more information as
compared to the vertical microinstruction because horizontal microinstruction contains a greater
length.

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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Fig: Horizontal Microcode

Vertical Micro-programmed CU
In contrast to the Horizontal micro-programmed CU, a higher degree of encoding and variable format
can be applied in the vertical micro-programmed control unit. With the help of encoded binary
format, we can represent the control signals in the vertical micro-programmed CU. Here, log2n bit
encoding is needed for 'n' control signals. A single micro-operation is represented by every vertical
micro-instruction. With the help of vertical CU, we can shorten the length of microinstruction as well
as prevent the length of microinstruction from being directly affected by the increasing memory
capacity.

The microinstruction is performed with the help of a code, and this code will be translated into the
individual control signals with the help of a decoder. Because here we only specified the micro-
operation that will be performed and the fields of microinstruction are fully utilized. There are
basically 4 to 6 fields, and these fields approximately require 16 to 32 bits per instruction. As
compared to the horizontal micro-programmed, we can easily write the vertical micro-programmed.
Same as the conventional machine language format, the vertical microinstruction also contains a few
operands and one operation. So we can easily use the vertical microinstruction for micro-
programming.

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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Fig: Vertical Microcode

Differences between Horizontal and Vertical Micro-programmed

CU
There are various differences between the vertical programmed CU and horizontal programmed CU,
which are described as follows:

Horizontal Micro-programmed CU Vertical Micro-programmed CU

This control unit is able to support This control unit is able to support shorter control
longer control words. words.

In this CU, we don't need any type of In this CU, we need additional hardware to generate the
additional hardware. control signals. These types of hardware must be in the
form of decoders.

Compared to the vertical micro- Compared to the horizontal micro-programmed control

programmed control unit, this control unit, this control unit is more flexible.
unit is less flexible.

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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Compared to the vertical micro- Compared to the horizontal micro-programmed control

programmed control unit, this control unit, this control unit is slower.
unit is faster.

Compared to the vertical micro- Compared to the horizontal micro-programmed control

programmed control unit, this control unit, this control unit makes more use of ROM
unit makes less use of ROM encoding. encoding so that it can reduce the control world's
length.

A higher degree of parallelism is The low degree of parallelism is allowed by the vertical
allowed by the horizontal micro- micro-programmed CU. That means there can either be
programmed CU. If there are is 'n' 0 or 1 degree of parallelism.
number of degrees, n control signals
will be enabled at a time.

The horizontal microinstruction is used The vertical microinstruction is used by the vertical
by the horizontal micro-programmed micro-programmed CU. Here each action will be
CU. Here control line is attacked with performed with the help of a code, and this code will be
every bit of the control field. translated into the individual control signals with the
help of a decoder.

For example:

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In this example, we will assume 4k words, which are supported with the help of hypothetical control
unit. There are total 16 flags and 64 control units in the hardware. Now we have to find the size of
control memory in bytes and the size of control word in bits for two types of programming, i.e.,
Horizontal and Vertical programming.
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Solution:
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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

For Horizontal programming

64 bits for 64 signals

Size of control word = 4 + 64 + 12 = 80 bits

Size of control memory = 4 KW = ((4 * 80) / 8) = 40 kByte

For Vertical programming

6 bits for 64 signals i.e. log264

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Size of control word = 4 + 6 + 12 = 22 bits
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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Size of control memory = 4 KW = ((4 * 22) / 8) = 11 kByte

Some Other differences between Horizontal and Vertical Micro-programmed

CU

Now we will describe these differences on the basis of some parameters, such as sequence, encoding,
design, and flexibility. These differences are described as follows:

Encoding

A higher degree of encoding and a variable format is contained by the vertical micro-
programmed. Here a code is used to encode the control bits. Each action will be performed with the
help of this code, and this code will be decoded into more than one control signal with the help of an
instruction decoder. In contrast to the vertical micro-programmed control unit, the horizontal micro-
programmed CU has the ability to contain the horizontal microinstructions, which do not use any
type of encoding at all. The horizontal CU is used to show each control bit in the datapath. Here a
separate bit is assigned to the datapath in the form of microinstruction format. A control line is used
to attack with every bit in the control field.

Sequence

In horizontal microprogramming, we can specify the next instruction in a micro-program with the
help of a sequential approach. This same approach is used by the conventional machine learning
format. The single control point is used to identify each and every bit in the horizontal micro-
programmed. This Control point is used to show that the corresponding micro-operation is going to
be executed. In order to break the sequence, we have to use the special conditional and
unconditional microinstruction. A relative addressing scheme is used in the vertical micro-
programmed. According to this scheme, we can specify the backward jump or relative forward with
the help of a few bits. In this process, address computation is needed at every step.

Design

There is a better code density in the vertical micro-programmed. Due to this feature, the size of
control store gets a lot of benefits. Same as the conventional machine language format, the vertical
microinstruction also contains a few operands and one operation. A single micro-operation is
represented with the help of each microinstruction. The data sink and resources are specified with the
help of operands. In contrast, the horizontal micro-programmed represents more than one micro-
operation that is going to be executed simultaneously. If there is an extreme case, each horizontal CU
can be used to control more than one hardware resource simultaneously.
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10/26/22, 5:21 AM Horizontal Micro-programmed Vs. Vertical Micro-programmed Control Unit - javatpoint

Flexibility

Each control bit in the horizontal micro-programmed is independent of each other. That's why this
CU provides improved flexibility. As compared to the vertical microinstruction, it contains a greater
length. So, horizontal micro-programmed CU is able to contain more length. The most commonly
available horizontal micro-programmed usually contains 48 or more bits. This CU has the ability to
utilize hardware more efficiently, and it is the advantage of horizontal micro-programmed. The less
amount of microinstruction per micro-program is required in the horizontal control unit. In contrast
to the horizontal micro-programmed control unit, the vertical micro-programmed are more
compact but less flexible. In the case of micro-programming, the consequently easily used approach
is the vertical approach.

Summary of Horizontal and Vertical Micro-programmed

A single micro-operation is able to represent by the vertical microinstructions, and this feature is
not available in the horizontal microinstructions. The higher degree of parallelism is performed by the
horizontal micro-programmed. This parallelism contains a separate control field and a minimum
number of encoding. Whereas the vertical micro-programs are used to encode the control bits. We
should be very careful while choosing between these two approaches. However, in practice, the
designer makes a compact yet effective structure with the help of combining the formats of vertical
and horizontal microinstructions.

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