What is page fault?, Operating System

Assignment Help:

What is page fault?

In the computer storage technology a page fault is an exception which is raised by the memory management unit when a requested page isn't mapped in physical memory. This exception is passed on to the OS (operating system) which is able to then try to handle the exception by making the required page accessible at a location in physical memory.

For instance a page fault may take place when a program requests a page in memory and the system can't find it at the requested location. If the page is elsewhere in memory then the fault is called as a soft page fault. If the page should be retrieved from disk, the fault is called as a hard page fault.

Opposing to what its name might suggest a page fault is never a fatal error. Actually, it is a relatively normal occurrence in any OS operating system that utilizes virtual memory in order to increase the amount of memory available to programs. The term General Page Fault is habitually found printed on the screens of computers running a Microsoft Windows operating system when a serious error has take placed in the paging algorithms that handle an ordinary and generally harmless page fault. This kind of paging error takes place in the software handling the exception, and isn't directly related to the page fault itself, which take place in hardware.

Page faults by their extremely nature degrade a program's or operating system's performance and is able to cause thrashing.  Optimizing any or every program's memory usage and commonly making more physical memory available reduces the number of page faults that occur, and get better the program's or the entire system's performance.

 

 


Related Discussions:- What is page fault?

File system, what are disadvantages of using single directory

what are disadvantages of using single directory

Bankers algorithm, p0A B C D A B C D A B C D 2 0 12 2012 1000 1354 0632 ...

p0A B C D A B C D A B C D 2 0 12 2012 1000 1354 0632 0014

Bind a real-time thread to an lwp, Q. Suppose an operating system maps user...

Q. Suppose an operating system maps user-level threads to the kernel utilizing the many-to-many model where the mapping is done through the use of LWPs. In addition the system allo

Intranet, how intranet can make your business effective

how intranet can make your business effective

Fork join, fork and join syntax in java

fork and join syntax in java

Write note on process, Write note on process, process state? A process ...

Write note on process, process state? A process is in excess of the program code which is sometimes known as text section. It as well includes the current activity as represent

What are the various layers of a file system, What are the various layers o...

What are the various layers of a file system? The file system is composed of many dissimilar levels. Each level in the design uses the feature of the lower levels to make new f

Identify main functions of an operating system, Question: Introduction to ...

Question: Introduction to Operating Systems a) Define the term ‘Operating System' and identify main functions of an operating system. b) What are the characteristics of a go

Macro, What is macro expansion

What is macro expansion

Distinguish among pcs and scs scheduling, Q. Distinguish among PCS and SCS ...

Q. Distinguish among PCS and SCS scheduling. Answer: PCS scheduling is completed local to the process. It is how a thread library schedules threads onto available LWPs. SCS sch

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd