In the 8086/8088, the execution unit is the part of the
processor known as the CPU. It executes the instructions and
generates the results. The bus interface unit, on the other hand,
is the part of the processor that handles reading and writing to
memory. The two are somewhat loosely coupled, with the bus
interface unit attempting to always be ahead of the execution unit,
i.e. using the cache, so that the execution unit's wait time is
minimized and performance is maximized.