VIRTUAL MEMORY

Question 1

Define Virtual Memory and give an overview of its functionality

Answer 1

Virtual Memory
* Gives illusion of more RAM than actual availability.

• Uses hard drive as extension of RAM.
• Enables running larger or multiple programs concurrently.
• Manages data stored in virtual area by moving data between RAM and hard drive.

Paging: It divides memory into pages and swaps them in and out of physical memory as needed.

Page Table: The system uses a page table to map virtual addresses to physical addresses for accurate data access.

Swap Space: When RAM is full, the system uses disk space (swap space) to temporarily hold data, freeing up RAM for other tasks.

Question 2

In the context of modern operating systems and virtual memory, what is swap space used for?

Answer 2

• Extends memory beyond physical RAM.
• Facilitates memory overflow by moving inactive or less critical data.
• Enables process management for running larger programs or multiple applications.
• Ensures system stability by providing extra space.
• Accessing swap space may reduce performance, than accessing physical RAM.

Question 3

State what problem Virtual Memory is designed to alleviate.

Answer 3

problem of limited physical memory by using disk space to extend available memory for running applications.

Question 4

On a Microsoft Windows based system, state how the default Virtual Memory value is calculated.

Answer 4

the default virtual memory size is typically calculated as 1.5 to 3 times the size of the physical RAM.