What is Computer Bus? – An Introduction

What is Computer Bus? – An Introduction

Bus is a set of electrical hardware lines that is used to transfer/receive data from the central processing unit. Bus is a way to connect computer components (e.g. Microprocessor, Disk drive, Memory, Input / Output ports, etc.) to Computer system for keeping in connection to transfer and receive data from computer.

✔ Bus (by wire or hardware lines) is the common way to transfer/receive data in the form of codes and only the fastest way for communication information between computer and its components. Any part of computer is connected with buses. Usually a bus consists of many parallel wires. Each wire sends one bit of data at a time, thus a bus can transfer/receive many bits. For example, a 16-bit of bus consists of 16 parallel wires and transfers 16 bits ( 2 bytes) of data from one computer component to another.

✔ In old computer, very few buses had used. Nowadays, modern computer contains many buses transfer many types of data, and some buses are used to transfer specific type of data, e.g. Image, Audio, Video, etc.

✔ Bus (Address bus, Data bus, Expansion bus) usually transfers different types of data within a computer. For example, these buses of parallel wires (that is printed on PCB) somewhere in the form of data take information or where data exists took addresses of data, or moving a control signal.

✔ Remember that whenever we speak bus then our gesture to number electrical wires in a PC component. In computer, Buses are present in many forms (wires on print circuit, straight cables, normal wires). However, these are always in parallel.

✔ Data bus:
It is an aggregate of parallel conductors (can pass current and printed circuit on electrical board) that is on a motherboard. These buses are used to send/receive information from connected devices to CPU. These buses are known as External bus/Data bus. Data buses are the basic way to transfer/receive data anywhere in computer. All components that contain data / other components are connected to data buses. Thus, any information (codes) which is in a bus that is available to any devices connected to computer.

✔Expansion bus:
These buses provide a way to connect a device to the motherboard. Expansion buses are kept flowing data with the computer device. These buses also provide a way to connect Add-on devices to motherboard.
System bus: these buses provide a way to connect Microprocessor, RAM chip, and other components to the motherboard. On these buses, motherboard’s primary components are fixed.

✔ Address bus:
These are parallel conductors (on the electrical circuit) on the motherboard, used to find the place of where computer memory is stored. That tells us what information /codes are sending/receive from data buses.