Virtual Memory

Management and File

Handling
By
Dr, Nileshchandra Pikle
Assistant Professor, VIT AP University
Contents

● Basics of Virtual Memory

● Demand Paging
● Page Replacement Policies
● Access methods - files
● Directory structure
● File system
● Allocation strategies
● Free space management
● Efficiency and Performance

2
What is Virtual Memory?

● It gives illusion to programmer that a process whose size

is greater than RAM can also be executed!
● That means a process whose size is greater than size of
RAM can also be executed.
● Size of main memory is fixed and limited whereas size of
process can be anything.
● Ideally we want to place more number of processes in the
main memory.

3
What is Virtual Memory?

● Till now we tried to place entire process into main

memory using different strategies like - MFT, MVT,
Paging, Segmentation, Paged Segmentation etc.
● CPU executes one instruction at a time or in other words
CPU refers one page or segment at a time.
● So why to load entire process into main memory?
● Why not only required part like pages/segments loaded
into memory?
● This is the basic idea behind virtual memory concept.

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 Virtual Memory Block Diagram
Frame Number Valid / Invalid
Process 1 Process 3
OS p0 p0
0 p1 p1 p1
1 p0 Swap-out p2 p2
2 p1 p3 p3
3 p2 p4 p4
CPU
4 p4 p5
Process 2
Page Table 5 p2 Swap-in p6
p0
6 p1
p1 Process 4
● There are 4 processes present on HDD 7 p5
● All processes divided into pages p2 p0
8 p0
● Page size = frame size p3 p1
9
● Note that only some (required pages) p2
are fetched into main memory 10
● Pages may not stored in contiguous RAM
Hard Disk
fashion
5
 Virtual Memory Block Diagram
Frame Number Valid / Invalid
Process 1 Process 3
OS p0 p0
0 — 0 0 p1 p1 p1
1 0 1 1 p0 Swap-out p2 p2
P2 2 3 1 2 p1 p3 p3
3 — 0 3 p2 p4 p4
CPU
4 p4 p5
Page Table Process 2
of P2 5 p2 Swap-in p6
p0
6 p1
● Let's assume Process P2 is getting p1 Process 4
7 p5
executed p2 p0
8 p0
● Pages P1 and P2 are already present 9
p3 p1
in main memory - observe page table p2
● Page 0 and page 3 of process P2 are 10
not present in RAM so their valid bit RAM
Hard Disk
is set to 0
6
 Virtual Memory Block Diagram
Frame Number Valid / Invalid
Process 1 Process 3
OS p0 p0
0 — 0 0 p1 p1 p1
1 0 1 1 p0 Swap-out p2 p2
P2 2 3 1 2 p1 p3 p3
3 — 0 3 p2 p4 p4
CPU
4 p4 p5
Page Table Process 2
of P2 5 p2 Swap-in p6
p0
6 p1
● Let's say CPU requests page 3 of p1 Process 4
7 p5
Process 2 which is not present in mm p2 p0
● CPU checks entry in page table of P2 8 p0
p3 p1
● As there is no entry of page 2 a TRAP 9
signal gets generated p2
10
● Now a user process changes mode to
RAM
kernel mode Hard Disk
7
 Virtual Memory Block Diagram
Frame Number Valid / Invalid
Process 1 Process 3
OS p0 p0
0 — 0 0 p1 p1 p1
1 0 1 1 p0 Swap-out p2 p2
P2 2 3 1 2 p1 p3 p3
3 9 1 3 p2 p4 p4
CPU
4 p4 p5
Page Table Process 2
of P2 5 p2 Swap-in p6
p0
6 p1
● In kernel mode, OS brings page 3 of p1 Process 4
7 p5
process 2 into RAM let say at free p2 p0
frame number 9 8 p0
p3 p1
● Corresponding page table entry also 9 P3
gets updated p2
10
● Now process changes its mode back to
RAM
user mode Hard Disk
● CPU access page 3 by referring page 8
table entry
Virtual Memory - Swap Area

● A computer has a sufficient amount of physical memory but most

of the time we need more so we swap some memory on disk.
● Swap space is a space on a hard disk that is a substitute for
physical memory.
● Swap space helps the computer’s operating system in pretending
that it has more RAM than it actually has.
● Whenever our computer runs short of physical memory it uses its
virtual memory and stores information in memory on disk.
● The interchange of data between virtual memory and real memory
is called swapping and space on disk as “swap space”.

9
Virtual Memory - Page fault

● When requested page not found in the main memory, Page

fault occurs.
● When Page fault occurs, process switches from user mode
to kernel mode.
● In kernel mode operating system fetches required page
from secondary storage.
● If there is free frame in main memory, the required page
will be placed in that frame
● If there is no free space then existing page gets
replaced with new page using page replacement policies.
● Existing page will be placed in the HDD.

10
Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms

● Whenever page fault occurs, OS needs to bring required

page into main memory. If there is no free frame in main
memory then an existing page in main memory needs to be
replaced with new page. For page replacement following
algorithms are used
1. First in First Out
2. Optimal Page Replacement
3. Least Recently Used
The ultimate aim of page replacement policies is to reduce
number of page faults

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Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
1. First In First Out
Reference
7 0 1 2 0 3 0 4 2 3 0 3 1 2 0
String

F1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 2 2
CPU
F2 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
Frames
F3 7 7 7 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0

F F F F+R H F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R H F+R F+R H

1. If there is a free frame and Page fault -> store new page with no
replacement
2. If no free frame and If page fault -> Replace new page with page arrived
12
first
Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
1. First In First Out
Reference
7 0 1 2 0 3 0 4 2 3 0 3 1 2 0
String

F1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 2 2
CPU
F2 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 1
Frames
F3 7 7 7 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 0 0 0 0 0

F F F F+R H F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R H F+R F+R H

● Page Hit ratio = # Page hits/# pages = 3/15

● Page Miss Ratio = # Page Miss/# pages = 12/15
13
 Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
What is the effect of number of frames available in RAM on
page fault ration?
Reference
1 2 3 4 1 2 5 1 2 3 4 5
String

F1 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 4 4
CPU
F2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 3
Frames
F3 1 1 1 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5

F F F F+R F+R F+R F+R H H F+R F+R H

Page Hit Ratio =
3/12
FIFO with 3 frames
14
 Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
What is the effect of number of frames available in RAM on
page fault ration? - Belady’s Anomaly
Reference
1 2 3 4 1 2 5 1 2 3 4 5
String

F1 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 3
CPU
F2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2
Frames
F3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 5
F4 1 1 1 1 1 1 5 5 5 5 4 4
Page Hit Ratio =
2/12 F F F F H H F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R F+R

FIFO with 4 frames 15

Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
What is the effect of number of frames available in RAM on
page fault ration? - Belady’s Anomaly

The increase in the number of frames considerably decreases

the number of page faults. However, sometimes reverse action
occurs when the increased number of frames results in
increased page faults. This exception is known as the
Belady’s Anomaly.

16
 Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
2. Optimal Page Replacement - Replace page which is not
used in longest dimension of time in future
Reference
7 0 1 2 0 3 0 4 2 3 0 3 2 1 2
String

F1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
CPU F2 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 1
Frames
F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
F4 7 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Page Hit Ratio =

F F F F H F+R H F+R H H H H H F+R H
8/15
17
 Virtual Memory - Page Replacement Algorithms
3. Least Recently Used - Replace the least recently used
page in past
Reference
7 0 1 2 0 3 0 4 2 3 0 3 2 1 2
String

F1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
CPU F2 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 4 4 1 1
Frames
F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
F4 7 7 7 7 7 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Page Hit Ratio =

F F F F H F+R H F+R H H H H H F+R H
8/15
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File Handling in Operating System

● File system - A software program in OS that manages files

and folders.
● It manages how data will be stored and fetched.
● Files and folders are stored on non volatile memories
like HDD, SSD or Pendrive.

File System

Data Storage and

User File Folder
fetch
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File Attributes and Operations

● File Attributes: Name, extension, identifier, location,

size, created date, modified date, permissions etc.
● File Operations: Create, read, write, delete, truncate
etc.

20
Disk Structure

21
File Allocation Methods

● Two types of file allocation methods, contiguous and non

contiguous allocation
● A file is divided into number of logical units and stored
into sectors on the main memory

Mapping

Original File divided into Disk with Sectors 22

File logical blocks
File Allocation Methods

● Contiguous allocation File A

File Start Length File B

0 1 2 3 4
A 0 3
5 6 7 8 9
B 6 5
10 11 12 13 14
C 14 4 File C
15 16 17 18 19

Disk with Sectors 23

File Allocation Methods

● Contiguous allocation - Advantages and disadvantages

1. Easy to Implement
2. Excellent read performance
3. Disk may get fragmented
4. Difficult to grow file

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File Allocation Methods

● Non Contiguous allocation -

1. Linked list allocation
2. Indexed File Allocation

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File Allocation Methods
1. Linked list allocation:-
File A
File Start Length

A 0 3
File B
0 1 2 3 4 B 3 5

C 2 4
5 6 7 8 9

0 7 7 16 16 -1
10 11 12 13 14 File C
15 16 17 18 19 2 5 5 10 10 15 15 -1

3 13 13 6 6 18 18 11 11 -1
Disk with Sectors 26
File Allocation Methods

● Linked List allocation - Advantages and disadvantages

1. No external fragmentation
2. File size can be expanded or shrunk
3. Large seek time
4. Random or direct access is difficult
5. Overhead of pointers

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File Allocation Methods
2. Indexed allocation:-
File A

File Start
Sector 0
A 0 A0 6
File B
A1 9
0 1 2 3 4 B 3 A2 10

5 6 7 8 9 C 12

10 11 12 13 14 File A :- Sector 0 contains mapping of File C

blocks to sectors in index format
15 16 17 18 19 File B :- Sector 3 contains mapping of
blocks to sectors in index format
File C :- Sector 12 contains mapping of
Disk with Sectors blocks to sectors in index format 28
Free Space Management

A file system is responsible to allocate the free blocks

to the file therefore it has to keep track of all the free
blocks present in the disk. There are mainly three
approaches by using which, the free blocks in the disk are
managed.

1. Bit vector or Bit map

2. Linked List
3. Grouping

29
Free Space Management

1. Bit vector or Bit map:-

● In this approach, the free space list is implemented as a
bit map vector.
● It contains the number of bits where each bit represents
each block.
● If the block is empty then the bit is 1 otherwise it is 0.
● Initially all the blocks are empty therefore each bit in
the bit map vector contains 1.

1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Occupied

Free

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Free Space Management
2. Linked List:-
● In this approach, the free disk blocks are linked together
i.e. a free block contains a pointer to the next free
block.
● The block number of the very first disk block is stored at
a separate location on disk and is also cached in memory.

Head of the first free sector is

0 1 2 3 4 stored

5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14
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Free Space Management
2. Grouping:-
● This approach stores the address of the free blocks in the first
free block.
● The first free block stores the address of some, say n free blocks.
Out of these n blocks, the first n-1 blocks are actually free and
the last block contains the address of next free n blocks.
● An advantage of this approach is that the addresses of a group of
free disk blocks can be found easily.

32
File Directory Structure
● Directory can be defined as the listing of the related
files on the disk. The directory may store some or the
entire file attributes.
● To get the benefit of different file systems on the
different operating systems, A hard disk can be divided
into the number of partitions of different sizes.
● The partitions are also called volumes or mini disks.

33
File Directory Structure

34
Directory Implementation

● There is the number of algorithms by using which, the directories

can be implemented.
● However, the selection of an appropriate directory implementation
algorithm may significantly affect the performance of the system.
● The directory implementation algorithms are classified according
to the data structure they are using.
● Linear List
● Hash Table

35
Directory Implementation

● Linear List:-
○ all the files in a directory are maintained as singly linked
list.
○ Each file contains the pointers to the data blocks which are
assigned to it and the next file in the directory.
○ When a new file is created, then the entire list is checked
whether the new file name is matching to a existing file name
or not.
○ In case, it doesn't exist, the file can be created at the
beginning or at the end.
○ Therefore, searching for a unique name is a big concern
because traversing the whole list takes time.
36
Directory Implementation

● Linear List:-
○ Therefore, searching for a unique name is a big concern
because traversing the whole list takes time.
○ The list needs to be traversed in case of every operation
(creation, deletion, updating, etc) on the files therefore
the systems become inefficient.

37
Directory Implementation
● Hash Table:-
○ To overcome the drawbacks of singly linked list
implementation of directories, there is an alternative
approach that is hash table.
○ This approach suggests to use hash table along with the
linked lists.

File Name Pointer to

data block

File Name File A

Hash
Function File B Linked
List
File C
38
Efficiency and Performance

● Disk tend to represent a major drawback in system performance

● Disk is the slowest component of the system
● Whenever a file is read/written corresponding directory entry
needs to be maintained like date of access.
● A frequently accessed file for read operation also requires to
perform read/write operation on attributes
● This may affect overall efficiency of the disk
● Apart from different memory allocation strategies one can
improve the performance of the system by other ways such as
maintaining caches to store complete track of the disk

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Completed Fifth Module!

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